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[F.A.Q.]
Kiribati Consolidated Legislation |
LAWS
OF THE GILBERT
ISLANDS
REVISED
EDITION 1977
CHAPTER 102
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1.
Short title
2. Meaning of
"workman"
3.
Interpretation
4. Application to
workmen employed under the Crown
5.
Employer's liability for compensation for death or incapacity resulting from
accident
6. Compensation in fatal
cases
7. Compensation in the case of
permanent total incapacity
8.
Compensation in the case of permanent partial
incapacity
9. Compensation in the case
of temporary incapacity
10. Artificial
limbs and apparatus
11. Compensation
for occupational diseases
12. Method
of calculating earnings
13. Persons
entitled to compensation
14.
Distribution of compensation
15.
Requirements as to notice of accident and application for
compensation
16. Medical examination
and treatment
17. Agreement as to
compensation
18. Determination of
claims
19.
Review
20. Limitation of power of
employer to end or decrease periodical
payments
21. Jurisdiction of the
court
22.
Appeals
23. Liability in case of
workmen employed by contractors
24.
Remedies against both employer and
stranger
25. Ordinance to apply to
accidents to seamen employed on Gilbert Islands
ships
26. Proceedings independently of
the Ordinance
27. Compulsory
insurance
28. Provision as to case of
bankruptcy of employer
29. Contracting
out
30. Compensation not to be
assigned, charged or attached
31.
Regulations
32. Rules of
court
33. Instructions as to transfer
of funds
SCHEDULE
--------------------------------
An Ordinance to make provisions for compensation to injured workmen
6
of 1949, (Cap. 16 of 1952), 11 of
1966,
L.N. 28/66,
8 of 1968, 2 of 1969, 8 of
1971,
(Cap. 83 of
1973), 28 of 1974, 13 of 1977, 26 of 1977
Commencement: 25th July 1949
Short
title
1.
This Ordinance may be cited as the Workmen's Compensation
Ordinance.
Meaning
of
"workman"
2.
(1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression
"workman", subject to section 4 and the proviso to this
subsection, means any
person who has either before or after the commencement of this Ordinance,
entered into or works under a contract
of service or apprenticeship with an
employer whether by way of manual labour, clerical work, or otherwise, and
whether the contract
is expressed or implied, is oral or in writing and includes
any person under training (hereinafter referred to as a trainee) who
is required
to perform work which would if not performed by the trainee have had in the
ordinary course of events to be performed
by a workman as otherwise defined by
this subsection:
Provided that the
following persons are excepted from the definition of "workman"-
(a) any person employed otherwise than by way of manual labour whose earnings exceed $10,000 a year; or
(b) a person whose employment is of a casual nature and who is employed otherwise than for the purposes of the employer's trade or business, not being a person employed for the purposes of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club; or
(c) an outworker; or
(d) a tributer; or
(e) a member of the employer's family dwelling in his house; or
(f) any class of persons whom the Minister may by order declare not to be workmen for the purposes of this Ordinance.
(2)
If in any proceedings for the recovery of compensation under this Ordinance it
appears to the court that the contract of service
or apprenticeship under which
the injured person was working at the time when the accident causing the injury
happened was illegal,
the court may, if having regard to all the circumstances
of the case it thinks proper so to do, deal with the matter as if the injured
person had at the time aforesaid been a person working under a valid contract of
service or apprenticeship.
(3)
Except for the purposes of section 17 any reference to a workman who has been
injured shall, unless the context otherwise requires,
where the workman is dead,
include a reference to his legal personal representative, or to his dependants
or any of them or the Commissioner
of Labour or such other officer as he may
appoint to act on behalf of the dependants of the
workman.
Interpretation
3.
(1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires-
"adopted" means adopted under the authority of an adoption order made by a court of competent jurisdiction;
"child" includes adopted child, grandchild, adopted grandchild, stepson and stepdaughter;
"Gilbert Islands ship" means-
(a) any ship which is registered in the Gilbert Islands under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894;
1894 c.60
(b) any ship which is owned by a body corporate established under the laws of the Islands or having its Principal office or place of business in the Islands or any ship which is in the possession of any such body corporate by virtue of a charter;
(c) any ship which is owned by any person whose chief office or place of business in respect of the management of that ship is in the Islands or any ship which is in the possession of any such person by virtue of a charter;
(d) any ship which is owned by Her Majesty in respect of Her Government of the Islands or which is in the possession of Her Majesty in that respect by virtue of a charter;
"Commissioner of Labour" means the Commissioner of Labour appointed under section 4 of the Employment Ordinance, and includes a Deputy Commissioner, of Labour or an Assistant Commissioner of Labour under the said section;
Cap 30
"compensation" means compensation as provided by this Ordinance;
"court" means the High Court;
"dependants" means those members of the family of a workman who were wholly or in part dependent upon his earnings at the time of his death, or would but for the incapacity due to the accident have been so dependent, and, where the workman, being the parent or grandparent of an illegitimate child, leaves such child so dependent upon his earnings, or, being an illegitimate child, leaves a parent or grandparent so dependent on his earnings, shall include such an illegitimate child or parent or grandparent respectively:
Provided that a person shall not be deemed to be a partial dependant of another person unless he was dependent partially on contributions from or made on behalf of that other person for the provision of the ordinary necessaries of life suitable for persons in his class and position;
"earnings" includes wages or salary and, unless otherwise prescribed, any allowance in respect of his employment paid to the workman by the employer and the value of any food, fuel, or quarters supplied to the workman by the employer if as a result of the accident the workman is deprived of such food, fuel, or quarters; and any overtime payments or other special remuneration for work done, whether by way of bonus or otherwise, if of constant character or for work habitually performed; but shall not include remuneration for intermittent overtime, or casual payments of a non-recurrent nature, or any ex gratia payment whether given by the employer or other person, or the value of a travelling allowance, or the value of any travelling concession, or a contribution paid by the employer of a workman towards any pension or provident fund, or a sum paid to a workman to cover any special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment;
"employer" includes Her Majesty in Her Government of the Gilbert Islands and any body of persons corporate or unincorporate and the legal personal representative of a deceased employer, and, where the services of a workman are temporarily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the workman has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship, the latter shall for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to continue to be the employer of the workman whilst he is working for that other person; and in relation to a person employed for the purposes of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager, or members of the managing committee of the club shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to be the employer;
"insurer" includes any insurance society, association, company or underwriter;
"medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner or medical officer registered, or conditionally registered, as such under the provisions of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Ordinance;
Cap. 55
"member of a family" means wife or husband, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, niece or nephew and shall include any child or children, not specifically mentioned, living with the deceased at the time of his death and wholly or mainly dependent upon his earnings and such other person as was at the time of the injury living in the household of the worker and was wholly or mainly dependent upon his earnings;
"outworker" means a person to whom articles or materials are given out to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, or repaired, or adapted for sale in his own home or on other premises not under the control or management of the person who gave out the materials or articles;
"partial incapacity" means where the incapacity is of a temporary nature, such incapacity as reduces the earning capacity of a workman in any employment in which he was engaged at the time of the accident resulting in the incapacity, and, where the incapacity is of a permanent nature, such incapacity as reduces his earning capacity in every paid employment which he was capable of undertaking at that time:
Provided that every injury specified in the Schedule, except such injury or combination of injuries in respect of which the percentage or aggregate percentage of the loss of earning capacity as specified in the Schedule against such injury or injuries amounts to 100 per cent or more, shall be deemed to result in permanent partial incapacity;
Schedule
"seaman" means any workman employed as master, officer, pilot, seaman, engineman, apprentice, stevedoring labourer, or in any other capacity whatsoever on board a ship by the owner or charterer thereof;
"territorial waters" means that part of the sea adjacent to any island of the Gilbert Islands which is within 3 geographical miles measured from low water mark of the seaward side of the reef fronting such coast, or, where a reef is not present, from the low water mark of the coast itself;
"total incapacity" means such incapacity, whether of a temporary or permanent nature, as in practice is likely to prevent a workman obtaining any paid employment which he was capable of undertaking at the time of the accident resulting in such incapacity;
"tributer" means a person who is granted permission to win minerals, receiving a proportion of the minerals won by him or the value thereof.
(2)
The exercise and performance of the powers and duties of a local or other public
authority shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance,
be deemed to be the trade
or business of such local or other public
authority.
Application
to workmen employed under the
Crown
4.
This Ordinance shall apply to workmen employed by or under the Crown in the same
way and to the same extent as if the employer were
a private person, except in
the case of persons in the naval or military or air service of the Crown and
persons in the civil employment
of Her Majesty otherwise than in Her Government
of the Gilbert Islands:
Provided
that this Ordinance shall not apply in the case of a workman in the service of
the Government of the Gilbert Islands where,
in consequence of injury received
by any such workman in the discharge of his duties, a pension or gratuity which
would not be payable
if such injury were received otherwise, is paid to him, or,
in the case of his death, to any of his dependants as defined in this
Ordinance,
under any Ordinance or regulation providing for the grant of such pension or
gratuity.
Employer's
liability for compensation for death or incapacity resulting from
accident
5.
(1) If in any employment personal injury by accident arising out of and in the
course of the employment is caused to a workman, his
employer shall, subject as
hereinafter provided, be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the
provisions of this Ordinance;
and for the purposes of this Ordinance, an
accident arising out of the employment shall be deemed, in the absence of
evidence to
the contrary, to have arisen in the course of the employment and an
accident arising in the course of the employment shall be deemed,
in the absence
of evidence to the contrary, to have arisen out of the
employment:
Provided
that-
(a) the employer shall not be liable under this Ordinance in respect of any injury, other than an injury which results in partial incapacity of a permanent nature, which does not incapacitate the workman for a period exceeding 3 days from earning full wages at the work at which he was employed; and
(b) if it is proved that the injury to a workman is attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of that workman, any compensation claimed in respect of that injury shall, unless the injury results in death or serious and permanent incapacity, be disallowed.
(2)
For the purposes of this Ordinance; an accident resulting in the death or
serious and permanent incapacity of a workman shall
he deemed to arise out of
and in the course of his employment, notwithstanding that the workman was at the
time when the accident
happened acting in contravention of any statutory or
other regulation applicable to his employment; or of any orders given by or
on
behalf of his employer, or that he was acting without instructions from his
employer, if such act was done by the workman for
the purposes of and in
connection with his employer's trade or
business.
(3) No compensation
shall be payable under this Ordinance in respect of any incapacity or death
resulting from a deliberate
self-injury.
(4) No compensation
shall be payable under this Ordinance in respect of any incapacity or death
resulting from personal injury, if
the workman has at any time represented to
the employer that he was not suffering or had not previously suffered from that
or a similar
injury, knowing that. the representation was
false.
(5) An accident happening
to a workman in or about any premises at which he is for the time being employed
for the purposes of his
employer's trade or business shall be deemed to arise
out of and in the course of his employment and the employer shall be liable
to
pay compensation if the accident happens while he is taking steps on an actual
or supposed emergency at those premises to rescue,
succour or protect, persons
who are, or are thought, to be or possibly 'to be, injured or, imperilled, or,
to avert or minimise serious
damage to
property.
(6) An accident
happening to a workman while he is travelling to or from his place of work as a
passenger by any vehicle, ship, vessel
or aircraft provided by his employer or
operated in the Ordinary course of public transport service shall be deemed to
arise out
of and in the course of his
employment.
(7) An accident
happening to a workman travelling to or from his place of work as a passenger by
any other vehicle, ship, vessel or
aircraft or aircraft shall not be deemed to
arise out of and in the course of his employment unless the employer has given
express
or implied permission to use such other
transport.
Compensation
in fatal
cases
6.
Where death results from the injury-
(a) if the workman leaves any dependants wholly dependent on his earnings, the amount of compensation shall be a sum equal to 48 months' earnings or $12,500 whichever is less:
Provided that in no case shall the amount of compensation under this paragraph be less than $1500:
And provided further that where in respect of the same accident compensation has been paid under the provisions of section 7 or section 8 there shall be deducted from the sum payable under this paragraph any sums so paid as compensation;
(b) if the workman does not leave any dependants wholly dependent on his earnings, but leaves any dependants in part so dependent, the amount of compensation shall be such sum, not exceeding in any case the amount payable under paragraph (a), as may be agreed upon or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the court to be reasonable and proportionate to the injury to the said dependants;
(c) if the workman leaves no dependants, the reasonable expenses of the burial of the deceased workman and the reasonable expenses of medical attendance on the deceased workman, not exceeding in all the sum of $50, shall be paid by the employer.
Compensation
in case of permanent total
incapacity
7.
(1) Where permanent partial incapacity results from the in jury the amount of
compensation shall be as sum equal to 48 months' earnings
or $12,500 whichever
is less:
Provided that in no case
shall the amount of compensation in respect of permanent total incapacity be
less than $1500.
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), where an injury results in
permanent total incapacity of such a nature that
the injured workman must have
the constant help of another person, additional compensation shall be paid
amounting to one-quarter
of the amount which is otherwise payable under the
provisions of this
section.
Compensation
in the case pf permanent partial incapacity
Schedule
8.
(1) Where permanent partial incapacity results from the injury the amount of
compensation shall be-
(a) in the case of an injury specified in the Schedule, such percentage of the compensation which would have been payable in the case of permanent total incapacity as is specified therein as being the percentage of the loss of earning capacity caused by that injury; and
(b) in the case of an injury not specified in-the Schedule, such percentage of the compensation which would have been payable in the case of permanent total incapacity as is proportionate to the loss of earning capacity permanently caused by the injury.
(2)
Where more injuries than one are caused by the same accident, the amount of
compensation payable under the provisions of this
section shall be aggregated,
but not so in any case as to exceed the amount which would have been payable if
permanent total incapacity
had resulted from the
injuries.
Compensation
in the case of temporary
incapacity
9.
(1) Where temporary incapacity, whether total or partial, results from the
injury, the compensation shall be the periodical payments
hereinafter mentioned
payable at such intervals as may be agreed upon or as .the court may order, or a
lump sum calculated accordingly,
having regard to the probable duration and
probable changes in degree of the incapacity. Such periodical payments shall be
based
on the following scales-
(a) where the workman's earnings do not exceed $40 a month, 100 per cent of such earnings;
(b) where the workman's earnings exceed $40 a month but do not exceed $60 a month, 75 per cent of such earnings with a minimum of $40;
(c) where the workman's earnings exceed $60 a month, 66 2/3 per cent of such earnings with a minimum of $50:
Provided
that-
(i) no periodical payment shall in any case exceed the difference between the amount of the monthly earnings which the workman was earning at the time of the accident and the amount of the monthly earnings which he is earning or is capable of earning during the period of incapacity in some suitable employment or business after the accident;
(ii) no periodical payment under the provisions of this section shall be at a higher rate than $330 a month;
(iii) if the period of incapacity exceeds 3 days, compensation shall be payable in respect of the total period of incapacity;
(iv) neither the aggregate of the periodical payments nor the lump sum payable under this subsection shall exceed the lump sum which would be payable in respect of the same degree of incapacity under the provisions of section 7 or section 8, as the case may be, if the incapacity were permanent;
(v) where a medical practitioner certifies as necessary on account of the injury any period spent by the workman in hospital or absent from his work such period shall be regarded as a period of total temporary incapacity irrespective of the outcome of the injury.
(2)
In fixing the amount of the periodical payments the court shall have regard to
any payment, allowance, ration or benefit which
the workman may receive from the
employer during the
incapacity.
(3) In the event of
death or permanent incapacity following after temporary incapacity, no
deductions shall be made from any lump
sum payment under the provisions of
section 6, section 7 or section 8 by reason of periodical payments or a lump sum
payment having
been made under the provisions of this
section.
(4) On the ceasing of the
incapacity before the date on which any periodical payment falls due, there
shall be payable in respect
of that period a sum proportionate to the duration
of the incapacity in that
period.
(5) Where a workman in
receipt of periodical payments under the provisions of this section intends to
leave the neighbourhood in which
he was employed for the purpose of residing
elsewhere, he shall give notice of such intention to the employer who may agree
with
the workman for the redemption of such periodical payments by a lump sum,
or for the continuance of such periodical payments; and
if the employer and the
workman are unable to agree, either party may apply to the court, which shall
have jurisdiction to order
such redemption and to determine the amount to be
paid or to order the continuance of the periodical
payments:
Provided that any lump
sum so ordered to be paid together with the periodical payments already made to
the workman shall not exceed
the lump sum which would be payable in respect of
the same degree of incapacity under section 7 (1), or section 8, as the case may
be, if the incapacity were
permanent.
(6) If a workman in
receipt of periodical payments under the provisions of this section leaves the
neighbourhood in which he was employed
for the purpose of residing elsewhere
without giving notice as provided in subsection (5) or having given such notice
leaves the
neighbourhood as aforesaid without having come to an agreement with
his employer for the redemption or continuance of such periodical
payments, or
without having made an application to the court under subsection (5), he shall
not be entitled to any benefits under
this Ordinance during or in respect of the
period of his absence; and if the period of such absence exceeds 6 months, the
workman
shall cease to be entitled to any benefits under this
Ordinance.
Artificial
limbs and
apparatus
10.
(1) Where an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment has
caused loss of a limb or other mutilation and the supply
of an artificial member
or members or apparatus (including dental appliances and artificial eyes) will
improve the earning capacity
of an injured workman, such artificial member or
members or apparatus shall be provided at the expense of the employer and the
rate
of compensation payable shall be reduced in proportion to the improvement
in earning capacity resulting from the use of artificial
member or members or
apparatus.
(2) The court may order
an employer to pay for the replacement or repair of any artificial member or
members or apparatus damaged
as a result of an accident arising out of and in
the course of a workman's employment by that
employer.
Compensation
for occupational
diseases
11.
(1) If a workman, within the 12 months previous to the date of the disablement,
contracts any disease to which this section applies,
and the disease is due to
the nature of the employment, and the incapacity or death of the workman results
from that disease, compensation
shall be payable as if the disease was a
personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of that employment
and all
the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply accordingly, subject
however to the provisions of this
section.
(2) No compensation shall
be payable under this section in respect of the incapacity or death of a workman
if that incapacity begins
or that death happens, as the case may be, more than
12 months after the workman has ceased to be employed, in any employment to
the
nature of which the disease is due, by the employer from whom the compensation
is claimed:
Provided that this
subsection shall not apply to the death of a workman when his death has been
preceded, whether immediately or not,
by any period of incapacity in respect of
which the employer is liable under this
section.
(3) For the purposes of
calculating the earnings of the workman in a claim for compensation under this
section, the commencement of
the incapacity of the workman, or the date of his
death if there has been no previous period incapacity, shall be treated as the
date of the happening of the accident, if he is then employed in any employment
to the nature of which the disease is due by the
employer from whom the
compensation is claimed, and if he is not then so employed, the last day on
which he was so employed shall
for his purpose be treated as the date of the
happening of the accident.
(4) For
all the other purposes of this Ordinance the commencement of the incapacity of
the workman, or the date of his death if there
has been no previous period of
incapacity, shall be treated as the date of the happening of the
accident.
(5) If the disease has
been contracted by a gradual process so that 2 or more employers are severally
liable to pay compensation in
respect thereof under this section, the aggregate
amount of compensation recoverable shall not exceed the amount that would have
been recoverable if those employers had been a single employer, and in any such
case those employers shall, in default of agreement,
be entitled as between
themselves to such rights of contribution as the court thinks just, having
regard to the circumstances of
the case, in any action brought or application
made by any of them for this
purpose.
(6) The diseases to which
this section applies are such as are declared by the Minister to be diseases
within the operation of this
Ordinance.
Methods
of calculating
earnings
12.
(1) For the purposes of this Ordinance the monthly earnings of a workman shall
be computed in such manner as is best calculated to
give the rate per month at
which the workman was being remunerated during the previous 12 months if he has
been so long employed
by the same employer, but, if not, then for any less
period during which he has been in the employment of the same
employer:
Provided that where by
reason of the shortness of the time during which the workman has been in the
employment of his employer or
the casual nature of the employment or the terms
of the employment, it is impracticable at the date of the accident to compute
the
rate of remuneration, regard may be had to the average monthly amount which,
during the 12 months previous to the accident, was being
earned by a person of
similar earning capacity in the same grade employed at the same work by the same
employer, or, if there is
no person so employed, by a person of similar earning
capacity in the same grade employment in the same class of employment and in
the
same district:
Provided further
that for the purposes of computing the monthly earnings of a casual worker
employed as a stevedoring labourer; such
worker shall be deemed to have been
employed for not less than 8 full working shifts per month at the usual rate of
pay for the work
upon which he was employed at the time of the
accident.
(2) For the purposes of
the preceding subsection, employment by the same employer shall be taken to mean
employment by the same employer
in the grade in which the workman was employed
at the time of the accident, uninterrupted by absence from work due to illness
or
any other unavoidable
cause.
(3) Where the workman had
entered into concurrent contracts of service with 2 or more employers under
which he worked at one time
for one such employer and at another time for
another such employer, his monthly earnings shall be computed as if his earnings
under
all such contracts were earnings in the employment of the employer for
whom he was working at the time of the
accident:
Provided that the
earnings of the workman under the concurrent contract shall be taken into
account only
so far as the workman is incapacitated from
performing the concurrent
contract.
(4) Upon request of the
workman to the employer liable to pay compensation, that employer shall furnish
in writing a list of the earnings
which have been earned by that workman upon
which the amount of the monthly earnings may be calculated for the purposes of
this section,
or, if owing to the casual nature or the terms of the employment
it is impracticable to furnish a list of the earnings of that particular
workman, the employer shall furnish in writing the average monthly amount which,
during the 12 months previous to the accident, was
being earned by a person of
similar earning capacity in the same grade employed at the same work by the same
employer, or, if there
is no person so employed, by a person of similar earning
capacity in the same grade employed in the same class of employment and
in the
same district.
(5) When a workman
is at the time of the accident under the age of 21 years, or is an apprentice,
trainee or learner, and his incapacity,
whether total or partial, is permanent,
his monthly earnings at the time of the accident shall be deemed to be the
monthly sum which
he would probably have been able to earn if he had then
attained the age of 21 years or had completed his apprenticeship, or had
ceased
to be a learner, as the case may be, being in no case less than $30 per
month:
Provided that nothing in
this subsection shall extend to the compensation payable on the death of a
workman.
Persons
entitled to
compensation
13.
(1) The compensation shall be payable to or for the benefit of the workman, or,
where death results from the injury, to or for the
benefit of his dependants as
provided by this Ordinance.
(2)
Where there are both total and partial dependants nothing in this Ordinance
shall be construed as preventing the compensation
being allotted partly to the
total and partly to the partial
dependants.
(3) Where a dependant
dies before a claim in respect of death is made under this Ordinance, or, if a
claim has been made, before an
order for the payment of compensation has been
made, the legal personal representative of the dependant shall have no right to
payment
of compensation, and the claim for compensation shall be dealt with as
if that dependant had died before the
workman.
Distribution
of
compensation
14.
(1) Compensation payable. where the death of a workman has resulted from an
injury shall be paid to the court, and the court may
order any sum so paid in to
be apportioned among the dependants of the deceased workman or any of them in
such proportion as the
court thinks fit, or, in the discretion of the court, to
be allotted to any such dependant, and the sum so allotted to any dependant
shall be paid to him or be invested, applied or otherwise dealt with for his
benefit in such manner as the court thinks
fit.
(2) Where, on application
being made in accordance with rules made under this Ordinance, it appears to the
court that, on account
of the variation of the circumstances of the various
dependants, or of any other sufficient cause, an order made under this
subsection
ought to be varied, the court may make such order as to the
apportionment for the variation of the former order as in the circumstances
of
the case the court may think
just.
(3) Compensation payable
under the provisions of section 7 or section 8 and lump sums payable under the
provisions of section 9 shall
be paid to the court, and any sum so paid shall be
paid to the person entitled thereto or be invested, applied or otherwise dealt
with for his benefit in such manner as the court thinks
fit.
(4) Nothing in this section
shall prevent an employer from making any payment to a workman pending the
settlement or determination
of the claim and the court may order that the whole
or any part of such payment shall be deducted from the amount of compensation
payable to him under the provisions of this
section.
(5) Any other
compensation payable under this Ordinance maybe paid to the workman or to the
court and when paid to the court shall
be paid by the court to the person
entitled thereto.
(6) The receipt
of the clerk of the court shall be a sufficient discharge in respect of any
amount paid to the court under the provisions
of this
Ordinance.
(7) Any order or
directions of the court under this section shall be final and shall not be
questioned in, nor shall any appeal lie
therefrom to any other court
whatsoever.
Requirements
as to notice of accident and application for
compensation
15.
(1) Proceedings for the recovery under this Ordinance of compensation for an
injury shall not be maintainable unless notice of the
accident has been given by
or on behalf of the workman as soon as practicable after the happening thereof
and before the workman
has voluntarily left the employment in which he was
injured, and unless the application for compensation with respect to such
accident
has been made within 6 months from the occurrence of the accident
causing the injury or, in the case of death, within 6 months from
the time of
death:
Provided
that-
(a) the want of, or any defect or inaccuracy in, such notice shall not be a bar to the maintenance of such proceedings if the employer is proved to have had knowledge of the accident from any other source at or about the time of the accident, or if it is found in the proceedings for settling the claim that the employer is not, or would not, if a notice or an amended notice were then given and the hearing postponed, be prejudiced in his defence by the want, defect or inaccuracy, or that such want, defect or inaccuracy was occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause;
(b) the failure to make an application within the period above specified shall not be a bar to the maintenance of such proceedings if it is found that the failure was occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause.
(2)
Notice in respect of an injury under this Ordinance may be given orally or in
writing.
(3) Notice in respect of
an injury under this Ordinance may be given to the employer (or if there is more
than one employer to one
of such employers) or to any foreman or other official
under whose supervision the workman is employed, or to any person designated
for
the purpose by the employer and shall give the name and address of the person
injured and shall state in ordinary language the
cause of the injury and the
date on which the accident
happened.
(4) The notice, if in
writing, may be given by delivering the same or sending it by post in a
registered letter addressed to the residence
or place of business of the person
to whom it is to be given.
(5)
Where the employer is a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, the notice,
if in writing, may also be given by delivering
it or sending it by post in a
registered letter addressed to the employer at the office or, if there be more
than one office, any
one of the offices of such
body.
(6) The workman shall, if so
required by his employer, supply to him such further particulars of the accident
and of the injury, as
the employer may reasonably
require.
Medical
examination and
treatment
16.
(1) Where a workman has given notice of an accident he shall, if the employer,
before the expiry of 7 days from the time at which
notice has been given, offers
to have him examined free of charge by a medical practitioner named by the
employer, submit himself
for such examination, and any workman who is in receipt
of a periodical payment under section 9 shall, if so required, submit himself
for such examination from time to
time.
(2) The workman shall, when
required, attend upon that medical practitioner at the time and place notified
to the workman by the employer
or that medical practitioner, provided such time
and place is reasonable.
(3) In
the event of the workman being, in the opinion of any medical practitioner,
unable or not in a fit state to attend on the medical
practitioner named by the
employer, that fact shall be notified to the employer, and the medical
practitioner so named shall fix
a reasonable time and place for a personal
examination of the workman and shall send him notice
accordingly.
(4) If the workman
fails to submit himself for such examination, his right to compensation shall be
suspended until such examination
has taken place; and if such failure extends
for a period of 15 days from the date when the workman was required to submit
himself
for examination under subsection (2) or subsection (3), as the case may
be, no compensation shall be payable, unless the court is
satisfied that there
was reasonable cause for such
failure.
(5) The workman shall be
entitled to have his own medical practitioner present at such examination, but
at his own expense.
(6) Where the
workman is not attended by a medical practitioner he shall, if so required by
the employer, submit himself for treatment
by a medical practitioner without
expense to the workman.
(7) If the
workman has failed to submit himself for treatment by a medical practitioner
when so required under the provisions of subsection
(6), or having submitted
himself for such treatment has disregarded the instructions of such medical
practitioner, then if it is
proved that such failure or disregard was
unreasonable in the circumstances of the case and that the injury has been
aggravated thereby,
the injury and resulting incapacity shall be deemed to be of
the same nature and duration as they might reasonably have been expected
to be
if the workman had submitted himself for treatment by, and duly carried out the
instructions of, such medical practitioner,
and compensation, if any, shall be
payable accordingly.
(8) Where
under this section a right to compensation is suspended, no compensation shall
be payable in respect of the period of suspension
save where the court is
satisfied that there was reasonable cause on the part of the workman or failure
to attend on the medical
practitioner.
(9) Notwithstanding
the previous provisions of this section, where a claim for compensation is made
in respect of the death of a workman,
then if the workman failed to submit to
examination by a medical practitioner when so required under the provisions of
this section,
or failed to submit himself for treatment by a medical
practitioner when so required under the provisions of this section, or having
submitted himself for such treatment disregarded the instructions of such
medical practitioner, and if it is proved that such failure
or disregard was
unreasonable in the circumstances of the case and that the death of the workman
was caused thereby, the death shall
not be deemed to have .resulted from the
injury and no compensation shall be payable in respect of the
injury.
(10) Where the employer
has not at his own expense made suitable arrangements for medical or surgical
attendance in respect of an
injured workman, the workman shall, in addition to
the compensation payable under sections 7, 8, 9 or 11, be entitled to a sum
equal
to the reasonable expenses incurred by him for medical or surgical
attendance in respect of his
injury.
Agreement
as to
compensation
17.
(1) The employer and workman may, with the approval of the Commissioner of
Labour, after the injury in respect of which the claim
to compensation has
arisen, agree in writing as to the compensation to be paid by the employer; and
such agreement shall be in triplicate,
1 copy to be kept by the employer, 1 copy
to be kept by the workman and 1 copy to be sent by the employer to the
Commissioner of
Labour:
Provided
that-
(a) the compensation agreed upon shall not be less than the amount payable under the provisions of this Ordinance; and
(b) where the workman is unable to read and understand writing in the language in which the agreement is expressed, the agreement shall not be binding against him unless it is endorsed by a certificate of the Commissioner of Labour to the effect that he read over and explained to the workman the terms thereof and that the workman appeared fully to understand and approve the agreement.
(2)
Any agreement made under subsection (1) may on application to the court be made
an order of the court.
(3) Where
compensation has been agreed the court may, notwithstanding that the agreement
has been made an order of the court under
the previous subsection, on
application by any party within 3 months after the date of the agreement, cancel
it and make such order
(including an order as to any sum already paid under the
agreement) as in the circumstances the court may think just, if it is
proved-
(a) that the sum paid or to be paid was or is not in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1); or
(b) that the agreement was entered into in ignorance of, or under a mistake as to, the true nature of the injury; or
(c) that the agreement was obtained by such fraud, undue influence, misrepresentation or other improper means as would, in law, be sufficient ground for avoiding it.
(4)
No stamp duty shall be leviable or payable on any agreement under this
section.
Determination
of
claims
18.
(1) If an employer on whom notice of the accident has been served under section
15 does not within 14 days after the receipt of the
notice agree in writing with
the workman as to the amount of compensation to be paid, the workman may, in the
prescribed form and
manner, make an application for enforcing his claim to
compensation to the court.
(2) All
claims for compensation under this Ordinance, unless determined by agreement,
and any matter arising out of proceedings thereunder,
shall be determined by the
court whatever may be the amount involved, and the court may, for that purpose,
call upon any government
officer or any independent medical practitioner to give
evidence, if the court is of opinion that such officer or practitioner is,
by
virtue of his expert knowledge, able to assist the
court.
Review
19.
(1) Any periodical payment payable under this Ordinance, either under agreement
between the parties or under an order of the court,
may be reviewed by the court
on the application either of the employer or of the
workman:
Provided that where the
application for review is based on a Change in the condition of the workman any
such application shall be
supported by a certificate of a medical practitioner
if the services of a medical practitioner are
available.
(2) Any periodical
payment-may, on review under this section, subject to the provisions of this
Ordinance, be continued, increased,
diminished, converted to a lump sum, or
ended. If the accident is found to have resulted in permanent incapacity, the
periodical
payment shall be converted to the lump sum to which the workman is
entitled under the provisions of section 7 or section 8, as the
case may be, and
such lump sum shall be dealt with in accordance with section 14
(3).
(3) Where application is made
by an employer under this section for any periodical payment to be ended or
diminished, and the application
is supported by the certificate or a medical
practitioner, the employer may pay into court the periodical payment, or so much
thereof
as is equal to the amount by which he contends that the periodical
payment should be diminished, to abide the decision of the court
made on a
review under this section.
(4) In
making a review under this section the court shall have regard only to the
capacity for work of the workman as affected by
the
accident.
Limitation
of power of employer to end or decrease periodical
payments
20.-
Subject to the provisions of section 9 (6), section 16 (4), and section 19 (3),
an employer shall not be entitled, otherwise than
in pursuance of an agreement
or an order of the court-
(a) to end periodical payments except-
(i) where a workman resumes work and his earnings are not less than the earnings which he was obtaining before the accident; or
(ii) where a workman dies;
(b) to diminish periodical payments, except that, where the earnings of a workman in receipt of periodical payments, together with such payments, exceed the amount of his earnings at the date of the accident the employer may diminish the payments to such workman by an amount equal to such excess.
Jurisdiction
of the
court
21.
(1) Save as is provided in this Ordinance and any rules made thereunder, the
court shall, upon or in connection with any question
to be investigated or
determined thereunder, have all the powers and jurisdictions exercisable by the
High Court in or in connection
with civil actions in such court and the law,
rules and practice relating to such civil actions and to the enforcement of
judgments
and orders of the court shall
mutatis mutandis
apply.
(2)
Where in any proceedings under this Ordinance on a claim for compensation in
respect of the death of a workman, the court is satisfied
that other or
sufficient evidence as to the dependency on the deceased workman of a person
claiming to be a dependant, residing outside
the district in which the
proceedings are being taken, or as to the degree of such dependency, cannot be
procured, or cannot be procured
without undue hardship to the claimant or other
party to the proceedings, a statement as to the dependency and as to the degree
of
dependency of the claimant signed by the administrative officer of the
district in which the claimant resides, whether within the
Gilbert Islands or
within any other colony, shall be
prima facie
proof of the facts stated therein; and
the signature of the administrative officer shall be admitted without proof
unless the court
shall have reason to doubt the genuineness
thereof.
(3) If in such
proceedings any evidence is adduced which in the opinion of the court traverses
the facts set out in such a statement,
or if for any other reason the court
thinks fit, the court may request a magistrates' court having jurisdiction in
the district in
which a person claiming to be a dependant resides to investigate
the fact of the dependency and the degree of the dependency of such
person; and
the record of any such investigation including the finding of the court thereon
shall be receivable as evidence in the
proceedings, and a certificate signed by
a magistrate shall be sufficient proof of such record and such signature shall
be admitted
without proof unless the court shall see reason to doubt the
genuineness thereof.
(4) Where a
request is received by the court from a court in another colony for an
investigation of any matter arising out of proceedings
for compensation
instituted in such other court under this Ordinance, or, if the other court is
in another colony, under a law relating
to workmen's compensation, the court
shall have jurisdiction to conduct such investigation, and shall transmit to
such other court
the record of such investigation, including its findings
thereon, duly certified by the judge or by an officer of the
court.
(5) For the purposes of
this section the expression "colony" includes any British Colony or British
Protectorate or any territory
in respect of which a mandate has been accepted by
Her
Majesty.
Appeals
22.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and of section 14, an appeal shall
lie to the Court of Appeal from an order of the
court.
(2) No appeal shall lie in
any case in which the parties have agreed to abide by the decision of the court
or in which the order of
the court gives effect to an agreement come to by the
parties.
(3) No appeal shall lie
after the expiration of 30 days from the date of the order of the
court:
Provided that the Court of
Appeal may, if it thinks fit, extend the time for appealing under this section
notwithstanding that the
time for appealing has
elapsed.
Liability
in case of workmen employed by
contractors
23.
(1) Where any person (in this section .referred to as the principal), in the
course of or for the purposes of his trade or business,
contracts with any other
person otherwise than as a tributer (which other person is in this section
referred
to as the contractor) for the execution by
or under the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the
principal,
the principal shall be liable to pay to any workman employed in the
execution of the work any compensation under this Ordinance which
he would have
been liable to pay if that workman had been immediately employed by him; and
where compensation is claimed from or
proceedings are taken; against the
principal, then, in the application of this Ordinance, references to the
principal shall be substituted
for references to the employer, except that the
amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the earnings of the
workman under the employer by whom he is immediately
employed.
(2) Where the principal
is liable to pay compensation under this section, he shall be entitled to be
indemnified by any person who
would have been liable to pay compensation to the
workman independently of this
section.
(3) Where a claim or
application for compensation is made under this section against a principal, the
principal shall give notice
thereof to the contractor who shall thereupon be
entitled to intervene in any application made against the
principal.
(4) Nothing in this
section shall be construed as preventing a workman recovering compensation under
this Ordinance from the contractor
instead of the
principal.
(5) This section shall
not apply in any case where the accident occurred elsewhere than on, or in, or
about premises on which the
principal has undertaken to execute the work or
which are otherwise under his control or
management.
Remedies
against both employer and
stranger
24.
Where the injury in respect of which compensation is payable under this
Ordinance was caused under circumstances creating a legal
liability in some
person other than the employer to pay damages in respect thereof-
(a) the workman may take proceedings both against that person to recover damages and against any person liable to pay compensation under this Ordinance for such compensation:
Provided that-
(i) if the workman has recovered compensation under this Ordinance before damages have been awarded in such proceedings, then the amount of such compensation shall be deducted from the damages to be so awarded;
(ii) if the workman has recovered damages in such proceedings before compensation under this Ordinance has been paid, them, notwithstanding the provisions of this Ordinance, the amount of such compensation shall be abated by the amount of damages so recovered; and
(b) if the workman has recovered compensation under this Ordinance, the person by whom the compensation was paid, and any person who has been called on to pay an indemnity under the provisions of section 23 relating to liability in case of workmen employed by contractors, shall be entitled to be indemnified as regards the amount of compensation, including costs, by the person so liable to pay damages as aforesaid, and any question as to the right to and amount of any such indemnity shall, in default of agreement, be settled by civil suit or, by consent of the parties, by arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1950.
1950 c. 27
Ordinance
to apply to accidents to seamen employed on Gilbert Islands
ships
25.
(1) This Ordinance shall apply to an accident happening to a seaman employed on
a Gilbert Islands ship whether the accident happens
in the Gilbert Islands or
elsewhere or on board the said ship or
elsewhere.
(2) The application of
this Ordinance in respect of accidents happening to seamen shall be subject to
the following modifications-
(a) the notice of accident and the claim for compensation may, except where the person injured is the master, be served on the master of the ship as if he were the employer, but where the accident happened and the incapacity commenced on board the ship it shall not be necessary to give notice of the accident;
(b) in the case of the death of the seaman, the claim for compensation shall be made Within 6 months after the news of the death has been received by the claimant;
(c) in the case of the death of a seaman leaving no dependants, no compensation shall be payable if the owner of the ship is, under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, liable to pay the expenses of burial;
1894 c. 60
(d) where incapacity for work results from the injury, the owner of the ship may deduct from the payments due to the injured seaman under this Ordinance any expenses of maintenance which the owner of the ship is, under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, as amended by any subsequent enactment or otherwise, liable to defray and has, in fact, defrayed;
(e) any sum payable by way of compensation by the owner of a ship under this Ordinance shall be paid in full notwithstanding anything in section 503 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (which relates to the limitation of a shipowner's liability in certain cases of loss of life; injury, or damage), but the limitation of the owner's liability imposed by that section shall apply to the amount recoverable by way of indemnity under section 24 as if the indemnity were damages for loss of life or personal injury;
(f) subsections (2) and (3) of section 174 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (which relates to the recovery of wages of seamen lost with their ship), shall apply as respects proceedings for the recovery of compensation by the dependants of a seaman lost with his ship as they apply with respect to proceedings for the recovery of wages due to seamen and apprentices; and proceedings for the recovery of compensation shall in such a case be maintainable if the claim is made within 18 months of the date at which the ship is deemed to have been lost with all hands.
(3)
This Ordinance does not apply in respect of accidents to such members of the
crew of a fishing vessel as are remunerated by shares
in the profits or the
gross earnings of the working of such
vessel.
(4) When an action is
commenced for the recovery of compensation in respect of an accident happening
out of the Islands, the action
shall, on the application of the defendant, be
stayed until the plaintiff has given to the defendant a sufficient undertaking
not
to institute any proceedings for the recovery of compensation or damages
from the defendant in any other part of the British dominions
in respect of the
same accident.
(5) In any action
for the recovery of compensation it shall be a good defence that proceedings for
the recovery of compensation or
damages in respect of the same accident have
been instituted by or on behalf of the same person against the same defendant in
any
part of the British dominions other than the Islands or that any claim by or
on behalf of the same person against the same defendant
for compensation or
damages in respect of the same accident under the laws of any part of the
British dominions other than the Islands,
has been settled by agreement or fully
satisfied.
(6) For the purposes of
this Ordinance an accident shall be deemed to happen in the Islands if it
happens within territorial waters
and shall be deemed to happen out of the
Islands if it happens
elsewhere.
Proceedings
independently of the
Ordinance
26.
(1) Where the injury was caused by the personal negligence or the wilful act of
the employer or of some other person for whose act
or default the employer is
responsible, nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent proceedings to recover
damages being instituted against
the employer in a civil court independently of
this Ordinance:
Provided
that-
(a) if damages are awarded after compensation has been paid the amount of damages awarded in such proceedings shall take into account the compensation paid in respect of the same injury under this Ordinance;
(b) a judgment against the employer is such proceedings shall be a bar to proceedings under this Ordinance in respect of the same injury at the suit of any person by whom or on whose behalf the proceedings against the employer were taken.
(2)
If in proceedings independently of this Ordinance or on appeal it is determined
that the employer is not liable under such proceedings,
the court in which such
proceedings are taken or the appellate tribunal shall, if the plaintiff so
choose, proceed to determine whether
compensation under this Ordinance is liable
to be paid to the plaintiff and shall assess the amount of compensation so
payable, by
may deduct from such compensation any extra costs which in the
opinion of the court or appellate tribunal have been incurred by the
employer by
reason of the proceedings having been taken independently of this
Ordinance.
Compulsory
insurance
27.
(1) The Minister may, by order, require any employer or class of employers to
insure and keep himself or themselves insured, with
such insurers as maybe
approved by the Minister, in respect of any liability which they may incur under
the provisions of this Ordinance
to any workman employed by
them.
(2) Any employer who acts in
contravention of any order made under the provisions of subsection (1) shall be
guilty of an offence
and liable to a fine of $10 for every day during which the
default
continues.
Provision
as to case of bankruptcy of
employer
28.
(1) Where any employer has entered into a contract with any insurers in respect
of any liability under this Ordinance to any workman,
then, in the event of the
employer becoming bankrupt, or making a composition or arrangement with his
creditors, or, if the employer
is a company, in the event of the company having
commenced to be wound up or a receiver or manager of the company business or
undertaking
having been duly appointed, or possession having been taken, by or
on behalf of the holders of debentures secured by a floating charge,
of. any
property comprised in or subject to the charge, the rights of the employer
against the insurers as respects that liability
shall ,notwithstanding anything
in the enactments relating to bankruptcy and the winding-up of companies, be
transferred to and vested
in the workman, and upon any such transfer the
insurers shall have the same rights and remedies and be subject to the same
liabilities
as if they were the employer, so however that the insurers shall not
be under any greater liability to the workman than they would
have been under to
the employer.
(2) If the liability
of the insurers to the workman is less, than the liability of the employer to
the workman, the workman may prove
for the balance in the bankruptcy or
liquidation, or, as the case may be, he may recover the balance from the
receiver or
manager.
Contracting
out
29.
Any contract or agreement, whether made before or after the commencement of this
Ordinance, whereby a workman relinquishes any right
of compensation from an
employer for injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, shall be
null and void in so far
as it purports to remove or reduce the liability of any
person to pay compensation under this
Ordinance:
Provided that a
workman, who has obtained compensation in respect of permanent partial or
permanent total incapacity, may enter into
a contract reducing or giving up his
right to compensation under this Ordinance in respect of any future personal
injury by accident
if such contract is certified to be fair and reasonable by
the Commissioner of
Labour.
Compensation
not to be assigned, charged or
attached
30.
Compensation payable under this Ordinance shall not be capable of being
assigned, charged or attached, and shall not pass to any
other person by
operation of law, nor shall any claim be set off against such
compensation.
Regulations
31.
(1) The Minister may make regulations not inconsistent with this Ordinance for
the purpose of giving better effect to the purposes
and provisions thereof and,
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, he may make
regulations-
(a) prescribing procedure, forms and fees;
(b) prescribing anything which is to be or may be prescribed under this Ordinance; and
(c) requiring employers and insurers carrying on in the Gilbert Islands the business of insuring employers against their liabilities under this Ordinance to make periodic or other returns as to such matters as he may think fit, and prescribing a time limit for the making of such returns.
(2)
Any person required to make a return by virtue of any regulation made under
subsection (1) who-
(a) fails to make such return within the time within which he is required to make it;
(b) makes or causes to be made a return which he knows to be false in any material particular; or
(c) on being so required fails to give any information or explanation respecting the return which it is in his power to give, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of $10 for every day during which the default continues.
(3)
Where a person convicted of an offence under this section is a company, the
chairman and every director and every officer of the
company shall be guilty of
a like offence unless he proves that the act or omission constituting the
offence took place without his
knowledge or
consent.
Rules
of
court
32.
The Chief Justice may make rules of court for regulating proceedings before the
court under this Ordinance, and for the fees payable
in respect
thereof.
Instructions
as to transfer of
funds
33.
(1) Where an arrangement has been made whereby sums awarded under the law
relating to workmen's compensation in the Gilbert Islands
to beneficiaries
resident or becoming resident in the United Kingdom or in any other part of Her
Majesty's dominions, and sums awarded
under the law relating to workmen's
compensation in the United Kingdom or in such other part of Her Majesty's
dominions to beneficiaries
resident or becoming resident in the Islands, may, at
the request of the authority by which the award is made, be transferred to
and
administered by a competent authority in the United Kingdom or in such other
part of Her Majesty's dominions or in the Gilbert
Islands, as the case may be,
the Minister may give instructions-
(a) for the transfer, in such manner as may be provided by the arrangement, to the United Kingdom or that part of Her Majesty's dominions with which the arrangement is made of any money in the disposition of the court applicable for the benefit of any person resident in or about to reside in the United Kingdom or such other part of Her Majesty's dominions;
(b) for the receipt and administration by an officer appointed by the Minister for this purpose of any money which under any such arrangement has been transmitted from the United Kingdom or the part of Her Majesty's dominions with which the arrangement has been made as money applicable for the benefit of any person resident or about to reside in the Islands.
(2)
For the purposes of this section, "Her Majesty's dominions" includes British
protectorates and protected states and territories
in respect of which a mandate
has been accepted by Her Majesty.
_________________
SCHEDULE
(Sections
3 (1) and 8 (1))
|
Injury
|
Percentage
of incapacity
|
|
Loss of 2
limbs.......................................
|
100
|
|
Loss of both hands or of all
fingers and both
thumbs................................................
|
100
|
|
Total loss of
sight....................................
|
100
|
|
Total
paralysis.......................................
|
100
|
|
Injuries resulting in being
bedridden permanently..........................................
|
100
|
|
Any other injury causing
permanent total
disablement..........................................
|
100
|
|
Loss of remaining eye by
1-eyed workman.....
|
100
|
|
Loss of remaining arm by
1-armed workman...
|
100
|
|
Loss of remaining leg by
1-legged workman...
|
100
|
|
Loss of arm at
shoulder............................
|
60
|
|
Loss of arm between elbow
and shoulder.......
|
50
|
|
Loss of arm at
elbow...............................
|
47
½
|
|
Loss of arm between wrist
and elbow............
|
45
|
|
Loss of hand at
wrist...............................
|
42
½
|
|
Loss of 4 fingers and thumb
of 1 hand..........
|
42
½
|
|
Loss of 4
fingers....................................
|
35
|
|
Loss of thumb-
|
|
both phalanges................................. |
35
|
1 phalanx........................................ |
10
|
|
Loss of index
finger-
|
|
3 phalanges.................................... |
10
|
2 phalanx....................................... |
8
|
1 phalanx....................................... |
4
|
|
Loss of middle
finger-
|
|
3 phalanges.................................... |
6
|
2 phalanges.................................... |
4
|
1 phalanx....................................... |
2
|
|
Loss of ring
finger-
|
|
3 phalanges.................................... |
5
|
2 phalanges.................................... |
4
|
1 phalanx....................................... |
2
|
|
Loss of little
finger-
|
|
3 phalanges |
4
|
2 phalanges |
3
|
1 phalanx |
2
|
|
Loss of
metacarpals-
|
|
first or second (additional).................. |
3
|
third, fourth or fifth (additional)............ |
2
|
|
Loss of leg at or above
knee..........................
|
70
|
|
Loss of leg below
knee................................
|
40
|
|
Loss of
foot.............................................
|
40
|
|
Loss of toes-
|
|
all................................................ |
20
|
great, both phalanges.......................... |
20
|
great, 1 phalanx................................ |
5
|
|
Loss of eye-
|
|
eye out.......................................... |
30
|
sight of.......................................... |
30
|
lens of........................................... |
30
|
sight of, except perception of light......... |
30
|
|
Loss of
hearing-
|
|
both ears....................................... |
50
|
1 ear............................................. |
7
|
Total permanent loss of
use of member shall be treated as loss of
member.
The percentage of
incapacity for ankylosis of any joint shall be reckoned as from 25 to 100 per
cent of the incapacity for loss of
the part at that joint, according to whether
the joint is ankylosed in a favourable or unfavourable
position.
Where there is loss of 2
or more parts of the hand, the percentage of incapacity shall not be more than
for the whole hand.
Where there
are 2 or more injuries, the sum of the percentages for such injuries may be
increased, and where such injuries are to
the hand, the following basis of
computing the increase shall be adopted, namely-
(a) where 2 digits have been injured, the total sum of the percentages shall be increased by 20 percent of such sum total;
(b) where 3 digits have been injured the sum total of the percentages shall be increased by 30 per cent of such sum total;
(c) where 4 digits have been injured, the sum total of the percentages shall be increased by 40 per cent of such sum total.
A
1-eyed workman who on entering employment has failed to disclose to his employer
the fact that he is 1-eyed shall, if he loses his
remaining eye, be entitled to
compensation in respect of a degree of disablement of 30 per cent
only.
For the purposes of this
Schedule, a 1-eyed workman means a workman who has lost sight of 1
eye.
____________
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
[Subsidiary]
Declarations
under section 11(6)
LN.4/73
The following diseases are
declared to be diseases within the operation of the Ordinance-
(i) poisoning by lead, its alloys or compounds and their sequelae;
(ii) poisoning by mercury, its amalgams, and compounds and their sequelae;
(iii) anthrax infection;
(iv) silicosis with or without pulmonary tuberculosis, provided that silicosis is an essential factor in causing the resultant incapacity or death;
(v) phosphorus poisoning by phosphorus or its compounds, and its sequelae;
(vi) arsenic poisoning by arsenic or its compounds, and its sequelae;
(vii) poisoning by benzene or its homologues, their nitro-derivatives and amido-derivatives, and its sequelae;
(viii) poisoning by the halogen derivatives or hydrocarbons of the aliphatic series;
(ix) pathological manifestations due to radium and other radio-active substances or due to X-rays;
(x) primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin;
G.N. 26/76
(xi) pneumoconiosis.
Regulations under section 31
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (ACCIDENT AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE) RETURN REGULATIONS
L.N.3/69
Citation
1.
These regulations may be cited as the Workmen's Compensation (Accident and
Occupational Disease) Return
Regulations.
Time
within which employer required to furnish
return
2. Within 7 days of an
employer becoming aware of any accident or disease which causes death to any of
his workmen or any injury incapacitating
such a workman for a period exceeding 3
days from carrying out the work on which he was employed, such employer shall
furnish to
the Commissioner of Labour a return of such accident or disease,
which return shall be complete and accurate in every particular
and shall be in
the form prescribed in the
Schedule.
Return
my be sent by post
3. An person
required by these regulations to furnish an return to the Commissioner of labour
my post such return by registered post
addressed to the Commissioner of Labour
at Tarawa, and for the purpose of these regulations that time at which any such
return is
so posted shall be deemed to be the time at which such return is
furnished.
_____________
SCHEDULE
(Regulation
2)
RETURN OF ACCIDENT/OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
(PURSUANT TO THE WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (ACCIDENT AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE) RETURN REGULATIONS)
The following particulars
are reported of an accident/occupational disease which caused to a workman
death/injury, incapacitating
him from earning full wages for a period of more
than 3 days in the work on which he was
employed-
1.
Employer-
(i) Name.................................................................................................
(ii) Address..............................................................................................
(iii) Trade/Occupation.................................................................................
|
(iv) Name and address of Insurance Company (if insured against accident or occupational disease or workman) |
}{.............................................
|
2. Workman-
(i) Name.................................................................................................
(ii) Sex...................................................................................................
(iii) Age..................................................................................................
(iv) Occupation.........................................................................................
(v) Address.............................................................................................
(vi) An identity particulars...........................................................................
3.
Accident/Occupational Disease-
(i) Date and time (of accident)........................................................................
Date of onset (of disease)..............................................................................
(ii) Circumstances in which accident/disease occurred (if accident was due to Machinery give details of part or parts causing accident) |
}{.............................................
|
(iii) Particulars of injury/disease as known to the employer ..........................................
............................................................................................................
4.
Earnings-(Average per month calculated over the past 12 months or for such
lesser period as the workman has been
employed):
Rate of
wages....................................................................................................
Other
allowance or regular payment (e.g. bonus, overtime,
etc.).........................................
Value
of
food....................................................................................................
Value
of
housing................................................................................................
______
Total earnings per month ...
______
Date
................................ ....................................
Signature of Employer
TO BE SENT WITHIN 7 DAYS
OF ACCIDENT TO:
The Commissioner of
Labour,
The
Secretariat,
Bairiki,
Tarawa.
____________
LAWS OF KIRIBATI REVISED EDITION 1980
CHAPTER 102
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
The Workmen's Compensation
Ordinance is amended by repealing the Schedule and substituting the following
Schedule-
12 of 1980 s.2
"SCHEDULE
(Sections
3(1) and 8(1))
|
Injury
|
Percentage
of Incapacity
|
|
Loss of 2
limbs..........................................................
|
100
" " " " " " " " |
|
Loss of both hands or of all
fingers and both thumbs.........
|
|
|
Total loss of
sight..................................................
|
|
|
Total
paralysis......................................................
|
|
|
Injuries resulting in being
bedridden permanently.............
|
|