Responsibilities of employers to workers who suffer accidents

1. What responsibilities does an employer have towards an employee who has an occupational accident?

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 39 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 2015, specifically the employer’s responsibilities towards employees suffering from labor accidents and occupational diseases are as follows:

Employers are responsible for employees suffering from labor accidents and occupational diseases as follows:

– Promptly provide first aid and emergency care to workers suffering from occupational accidents and must advance the costs of first aid, emergency care and treatment for workers suffering from labor accidents or occupational diseases;

– Payment of medical expenses from first aid and emergency care to stable treatment for people with labor accidents or occupational diseases as follows:

+ Payment of co-payment costs and costs not included in the list covered by health insurance for employees participating in health insurance;

+ Pay the fee for assessment of work capacity decline in cases where the conclusion of work capacity loss is less than 5% because the employer refers the employee to have the work capacity loss assessment at the Medical Examination Council;

+ Pay all medical expenses for employees who do not participate in health insurance;

– Pay full salaries to employees who have labor accidents or occupational diseases and have to leave work during the period of treatment and rehabilitation;

– Compensate workers who suffer occupational accidents that are not entirely caused by their own fault and workers who suffer from occupational diseases at the following rates:

+ At least equal to 1.5 months’ salary if the working capacity is reduced by 5% to 10%; After that, for every 1% increase, 0.4 months’ salary will be added if the working capacity is reduced from 11% to 80%;

+ At least 30 months’ salary for employees whose working capacity is reduced by 81% or more or for relatives of employees who die due to work accidents or occupational diseases;

– Allowances for workers who suffer from work accidents due to their own fault cause an amount of money at least equal to 40% of the level specified in Clause 4 of this Article with a corresponding reduction in working ability;

– Introduce workers who suffer from labor accidents or occupational diseases to medical examination to determine the level of reduced working ability, and receive treatment, nursing, and labor function rehabilitation according to the law;

– Implement compensation and benefits for people who suffer from labor accidents and occupational diseases within 05 days from the date of the Medical Examination Council’s conclusion on the level of reduced working ability or from the date the Occupational Accident Investigation Team announces the occupational accident investigation record for fatal occupational accidents;

– Arrange work suitable for health according to the conclusion of the Medical Examination Council for employees with labor accidents or occupational diseases after treatment and rehabilitation if they continue to work;

– Prepare dossiers for benefits on labor accidents and occupational diseases from the Labor Accident and Occupational Disease Insurance Fund according to the provisions of Section 3 of this Chapter;

– The salary used as a basis for implementing compensation, allowances, and salaries paid to employees who leave work due to labor accidents or occupational diseases specified in Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Article is the salary including salary, salary allowances and other additional payments in accordance with the provisions of labor law.

– The Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall detail Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

2. How are labor accident benefits regulated?

In Article 4 of Circular 28/2021/TT-BLDTBXH stipulates on labor accident benefits as follows:

– Employees who suffer a work accident that reduces their working ability by 5% or more or a relative of a worker who dies due to a work accident are entitled to work accident benefits, if the cause of the work accident is entirely due to the victim’s own fault (based on the conclusion of the work accident investigation record).

– Benefits principle: Benefits will be provided for each time an occupational accident occurs, without accumulating previous accidents.

– Subsidy level:

+ At least 12 months’ salary for employees whose working capacity is reduced by 81% or more or for relatives of workers who die due to an occupational accident;

+ At least equal to 0.6 months’ salary for those whose working capacity is reduced from 5% to 10%; If the working capacity is reduced from 11% to 80%, calculate according to the formula below or look up the table in Appendix I issued with this Circular:

Ttc = Tbt x 0.4

In which:

– Ttc: Benefit level for employees with working capacity reduced from over 10% or more (unit: month’s salary);

– Tbt: Compensation level for people whose working ability is reduced by over 10% or more (unit: month’s salary).

Example 2:

– Mr. B had his first work accident because Mr. B violated labor safety regulations, through no one else’s fault. The health assessment determined that Mr. B’s loss of working ability was 15% due to this accident. The first subsidy level for Mr. B is: Ttc = Tbt x 0.4 = 3.5 x 0.4 = 1.4 (monthly salary).

– The next time Mr. B had an accident while traveling from work to home (investigated and determined to be eligible for subsidy as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article). Health assessment determined that the loss of working capacity due to this accident was 20%. The second subsidy level for Mr. B is:

Ttc = Tbt x 0.4 = 5.5 x 0.4 = 2.2 (monthly salary).

3. Is it necessary to pay wages to employees during the treatment of occupational accidents?

In Official Dispatch 2704/LDTBXH-ATLD of 2019 on payment of medical expenses and wages in traffic accidents issued by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the following instructions are issued:

To have a basis for resolving accidents when traveling from home to work or from work to home, it is necessary to base on the industrial accident investigation record. Based on the above accident investigation record, in case it is determined that the employee had an accident while traveling from the place of residence to the place of work or from the place of work to the place of residence following a reasonable route and time, if it was caused by someone else’s fault or the person causing the accident cannot be determined, the employer shall provide an allowance to the employee according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene. The Law on Occupational Safety and Health does not require employers to pay medical expenses and salaries during the treatment period in the above-mentioned accident case.

Thus, in this case, it is not mandatory for employers to pay salaries to employees during holidays.