How do I start the workers’ compensation claim process? Work injury compensation depends on the degree of injury, “complete”, “partial”, “temporary”?

If an employee is injured at work or suffers from an occupational disease, that is to say, he suffers from any industrial accident in the employment contract and suffers bodily injury, he can initiate the work-related compensation claim procedure in accordance with the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance within a prescribed period. How exactly does this procedure start? What is the basis for the employer to determine the compensation fee? In this article, we will learn about the work injury claim process and the three levels of work injury compensation:

How do I start the workers’ compensation claim process?

The “Employees’ Compensation Regulations” stipulates that no matter whether an employee unfortunately suffers from a work-related injury or an occupational disease, in addition to notifying the employer as soon as possible, he should seek immediate medical attention and receive treatment at an appropriate medical location. This is the first step in the entire claim process.

During the process of seeing a doctor, employees should keep all sick leave papers, medical records and receipts, and make a copy for their own records, and then submit the documents to the employer; the employer is responsible for receiving these medical records within 14 days, Submit to the Labor Department.

Then, the Labor Department will generally refer the case to the Ordinary Assessment Board and the Special Assessment Board to assess the period of absence and the degree of permanent incapacity of the employee due to the work-related injury.

Labor insurance should be submitted to the insurance company at the same time

In addition to initiating the work-related injury claim procedures, employers can also start the relevant claim procedures for the labor insurance insured by their employees. Similarly, the employee’s medical records and other information must be handed over to the insurance company. Generally, when the Labor Department’s assessment of the degree of injury is completed, the compensation amount can be agreed upon according to the degree of injury.

There are three levels of workers’ compensation:

Work injury compensation referred to in the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance usually involves the following three situations, which will directly affect the compensation level of employees, namely:

1. – “Permanent and total incapacity for work”

First of all, once an employee is diagnosed by a doctor as permanently “total” incapacitated, the amount of compensation should be calculated based on his actual age at the time of injury and his monthly income.

2. – “Permanent partial incapacity”

If the doctor diagnoses the employee as permanently “partially” incapacitated, the Labor Department will determine the amount of compensation according to the employee’s lost earning capacity, and will usually refer to the above-mentioned calculations and then calculate it on a pro-rata basis.

3. ——“temporary incapacity”

If an employee is only diagnosed as “temporarily” incapacitated, he can receive periodic payments within 24 months from the day he took work-related sick leave. Once the employee is still unable to work after 24 months, he can apply to the court to extend the period of the payment for up to one more year.

Not only that, during this period, the employer is required to bear all the in-patient/out-of-hospital medical expenses of the employee, capped at HK$300 per day.

The above information is for reference only. If you have any questions about tax declaration and accounting, we welcome your inquiries.