Workers compensation and the requirements of you the employer
An employer cannot dismiss an employee because of an injury or disability arising from work. Your worker has an obligation to notify you of the injury as soon as it happens, and you as the employer are required to notify your insurer within 48 hours of the injury occurring.
Normally, an insurer has 21 calendar days to determine liability, from the date notice of the claim has been received. The legislation provides that the insurer can make provisional payments in the initial stage, without admission of liability. Normally, the insurer must commence payment for provisional weekly payment within seven days of the claim being made unless it has a reasonable excuse not to do so. If reasonable excuse notice is given, the insurer has no obligation to make any form of payment until liability has been determined by the insurer.
If the employer and employee both agree, the employer can make payments to the employee from the employees’ accrued annual and sick leave entitlements. However, the employer will have to re credit the employee’s annual and sick leave entitlements in order to avoid the worker receiving double payment.
It can still take quite some time to finalise
On average, a compensation claim generally takes up to 7-8 months before it is finalised. It should also be noted, that there is a requirement that workers make a claim for compensation within 6 months of the date of their injury or becoming aware of the effects of the injury.
Here at JFM Law we can assist and provide you with advice on workers compensation and how to manage employees’ suffering from an injury of disability arising from work. Contact JFM Law on (02) 9199 8597 for a no obligation chat. If you would rather get in contact through email, send your question through or by email at wehelp@jfmlaw.com.au.
