IF a worker suffered personal injury as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of employment, the worker’s employer must pay the worker a weekly payment of two-thirds of the weekly earnings which the worker was earning at the time of the accident.
This was questioned by members of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation to which Accident and Compensation Commission Fiji CEO Parvez Akbar said an employer may elect to dispute the duty to pay the weekly payment by making an application to the permanent secretary for Employment only on the grounds that the accident did not arise out of and in the course of employment.
FCEF members at an information session with the Accident Compensation Commission Fiji were informed that the Accident Compensation Act 2017 became effective from January 1, 2018, covering all motor vehicle accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2018.
Speaking to FCEF members yesterday, Mr Akbar said from January 1, 2019 ACCF would compensate for employment and school injuries and deaths.
He said the Act provided for a “no fault compensation scheme” with its coverage extending beyond third parties i.e. any personal injury or death suffered by any person as a result of an accident in Fiji was eligible for compensation under the Act.
He said changes were made based on the fact that the old Act was not victim friendly and caused inordinate delays because of lengthy court processes and challenges with employers/insurance companies.
He said with the Accident Compensation (Amendment) Regulation 2018 maximum compensation amounts were higher and it also reduced personal, physical and emotional suffering by providing timely care and rehabilitation that gets people back to work or independence as soon as possible.
Maximum compensation paid:
- Permanent partial incapacity $75,000 n Permanent total incapacity $150,000
- Any other cases (other than the above) $75,000
- Death $75,000
Mr Akbar said the compensations for the motor vehicle accidents were paid from the road user levy paid to the Land Transport Authority while the compensation fund for accidents at workplaces were from the 1 per cent levy paid by employers to the Fiji National University.
