Injured at work? How the claim actually works

The two deadlines that decide everything

• Your employer has 7 days from the accident to report it to the Compensation Fund on form W.Cl.2, the Employer's Report of an Accident. They must not wait for complete paperwork; the report goes in first
• Your claim dies at 12 months. If notice of the accident has not reached the employer or the Commissioner within 12 months of the accident date, the right to compensation is forfeited. Report it the day it happens, in writing, and keep a copy

The steps, in order

• 1. Report the accident to your employer immediately, in writing, even if the injury seems small. Some injuries only show their teeth weeks later, and the report is your proof
• 2. The employer files the W.Cl.2 with the Fund within 7 days, through the CompEasy online system at compeasy.labour.gov.za, and hands you the employee copy for your doctor. A claim number is issued once the report is registered
• 3. See a doctor and give them the claim details. The doctor submits the First Medical Report (W.Cl.4). Treatment for the injury is billed to the Fund, not to you, for up to two years
• 4. While you are booked off, the doctor files Progress Medical Reports (W.Cl.5) monthly, and a Final Medical Report when your condition stabilises. That final report is what any permanent disablement award is assessed on
• 5. When you return to work, the employer files the Resumption Report (W.Cl.6) so wage compensation is calculated correctly

If your employer will not report it

You do not need their cooperation. Lodge the claim yourself on form W.Cl.3, the employee's Notice of Accident and Claim for Compensation, at a labour centre. Your treating doctor can also send the medical report directly to the Commissioner, and the employer is then compelled to file their part. An employer who fails to report is committing an offence and can be held personally liable for the full compensation. An unregistered employer does not sink your claim either: the Fund can pay you and recover every cent from them.

What the Fund pays

• Medical costs for up to two years from the accident or diagnosis
• Off work more than 3 days: temporary total disablement at 75 percent of your wages, employer paid for the first 3 months and Fund paid after that, up to 12 months, extendable to 24. Three days or less pays nothing
• Permanent disablement: assessed from 1 to 100 percent; 30 percent or below is a lump sum, above 30 percent becomes a monthly pension, reaching 75 percent of wages at full disablement
• Death on duty: a pension for your spouse and children under 18, plus funeral costs

Claims are refused for late notice, for absences of 3 days or less, and for injuries caused by your own serious and wilful misconduct, unless the result is serious disablement or death. Payment is notoriously slow; a complete, on time paper trail is what keeps a claim moving.

Frequently asked questions