Work Injury Compensation Act: Ultimate Guide

Work Injury Compensation Act: Ultimate Guide for Singapore Business Owners

If you’re in charge of HR or you run a business, you’re likely familiar with Singapore’s Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). This law sets out basic requirements for staff insurance, and the duty of businesses to compensate their staff for work-related injuries/illnesses. With the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are now responsible for compensating their staff for Covid-19 if they contract it at work.

This guide lays out all the frequently asked questions that employers have about WICA.

1. What is the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA)?

WICA is a statute in Singapore that specifies the duties that employers have towards employees who get injured/sick due to work-related causes. The Act was last updated recently in September 2019, where improvements were made to increase the level of protections granted to workers. These additional worker protections will increase the need for businesses to have adequate Work Injury Compensation Insurance (WICA insurance) in place.

WICA specifies:

1. Amount of compensation that employees must be paid if they get injured/sick
2. What circumstances are considered “work-related” injuries
3. Penalties for employers who fail to comply with this law
4. What types of employees must be insured with Work Injury Compensation Insurance

2. What is my business liable to pay under the Work Injury Compensation Act?

Under WICA laws, businesses are liable for 3 things:

1. Medical expenses from work-related injury/sickness
2. Lost wages from work-related injury/sickness
3. Legal fees if your employees sue you for their work-related injury/sickness

Summary of employer’s liabilities under WICA:

3. Why was the Work Injury Insurance Act passed?

WICA was passed as a safeguard to ensure that businesses treat their workers fairly. As an employer, you cannot simply push your workers aside when they get injured or sick after working for you. You have a legal responsibility to adequately compensate them for any injuries or diseases they contracted while performing their job.

4. Do I need to pay for injuries/diseases suffered by employees who are overseas?

If the employee was stationed overseas for work, or travelling overseas for work, then you are liable under WICA.

If the employee was simply having a holiday (and thus non-work-related), you are not liable.

5. Are employees covered by WICA while working from home (WFH)?

Yes. Employers are liable for injuries/diseases suffered by employees while they are working from home.

However, MOM has clarified that the onus is on employees to prove that they got injured or sick while performing work-related duties.

Example: a home bakery business employs people to bake cakes from their homes. One of the home bakers suffers burns while removing a cake from the oven. This would be a clear case of work-related injury. The baker would be entitled to file a WICA claim against his/her employer.

6. Does WICA cover fights that occur at the workplace?

WICA coverage DOES apply: If an employee is attempting to defend themselves, then any injuries the employee suffers will be covered under WICA.

WICA coverage DOES NOT apply: If an employee initiates a fight, they any any injuries the employee suffers will not be covered under WICA.

7. Does WICA cover accidents that happen due to alcohol or drug misuse?

No. Any injuries caused by alcohol or drug usage are not covered.

8. Does WICA cover travelling to and from work?

Yes. WICA covers travelling to and from work:

1. Travelling to and from work in company vehicles

WICA does NOT cover travelling to and from work in your own vehicle. So, if you’re driving to work in the morning and you get into an accident, you cannot file a WICA claim. You’ll have to file a civil lawsuit against your company if you want compensation for your injuries.

9. What is the difference between filing a WICA claim and a civil lawsuit against an employer?

10. Is there a deadline to file a WICA claim against my employer?

One year from the date of injury. That is the maximum amount of time you have to file a WICA claim. It’s long enough to ensure adequate time for testing, doctor’s visits, etc., but not so long as to invite potential abuse of the law.

11. Are there exclusions in work injury insurance policies?

MOM has recently banned work-related exclusions from WICA insurance. Previously, insurers would often include exclusions for certain higher-risk work activities – e.g. working at tall heights, working with hot materials, etc. Employers facing such claims often did not have the financial capacity to make injury payments, since their insurance policy could not be activated. This resulted in employees having a difficult time obtaining compensation for legitimate injuries/diseases suffered.

This change in WICA legislature is a positive for employers and their staff, who can now enjoy greater protection under their WICA insurance.

12. Can I fire an injured employee to avoid paying WICA liabilities?

You are free to fire your employee. However, firing your employee does NOT absolve employers of WICA legal liabilities. You remain legally responsible to pay medical expenses and lost wages.

In addition, firing an injured employee may provoke them into filing an injury lawsuit against you, if they weren’t already thinking of doing so in the first place. That will add on to the costs you already have to bear under WICA. It’s therefore highly recommended for employers to resolve workplace injuries amicably, where possible.

13. My employees are already covered by existing insurance policies (e.g. group personal accident insurance). Do I still need to buy Work Injury Compensation Insurance?

Employers are free to combine Group Personal Accident and WICA insurance to cover all the liability that they may incur under the Work Injury Compensation Act. The point here is that businesses should have sufficient insurance coverage to meet their financial obligations if their workers get injured.

Do note that Group Personal Accident coverage limits are usually much lower than Work Injury Insurance limits. If you’re trying to get the most coverage for the least amount of money, it’s best to go with Work Injury Insurance.

14. How soon must an employer report a work-related accident?

Employers must report work-related accidents to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) within 10 days of a work accident occurring. This means that HR departments not only need to be familiar with WICA compliance, but employees themselves must come forward to report their injuries/sickness promptly.

15. What industries need to pay especially close attention to WICA?

As long as you employ people, you need to be very familiar with WICA and your liabilities under it. However, employers in the following industries should be extra diligent about their legal duties under this Act, given that these industries are at higher risk of experiencing work-related injuries/sickness.

16. How can I protect my business against work injury liability?

It is highly recommended that you purchase Work Injury Compensation Insurance for your company.

17. My staff got infected with Covid-19. Am I liable under the Work Injury Compensation Act?

If your staff contracted it from work-related causes, then yes you are liable.

How will the authorities determine if it was a work-related cause? MOM will activate MOH to perform contact tracing on your staff. If MOH finds that your staff had been in close contact with known Covid-19 cases, and these cases came from work-related causes (e.g. in the office, from business meetings, at worksites, or travelling to/from worksites, etc.), then that will be a work-related cause.

18. How much does Work Injury Insurance cost?

As you can tell, work injury insurance is highly affordable. Coverage amounts are also very high. Given the low cost and great coverage, work injury insurance should be top of mind for HR departments to protect their staff.

19. Is there a penalty for not complying with the Work Injury Compensation Act?

Yes. Under Section 35 of the Work Injury Compensation Act, it is illegal to not purchase work injury insurance when compulsory. Offenders can be jailed up to 12 months, and/or fined up to $10,000.

20. I have a project that will only last a few months. Can I buy Work Injury Insurance for 2-3 months?

No. Work Injury Insurance policies last 12 months. You cannot buy a policy for less than that period. In any case, work injury insurance is highly affordable, so you don’t have to worry about paying large sums of money to protect your employees.

21. Does WICA cover injuries sustained while driving?

Yes. WICA will apply for driving employees as long as they were driving to/from work. It also applies if they were driving for work-related purposes, like meeting clients, or delivering goods.

22. Does WICA apply to foreigners?

Yes. WICA applies to any employee in Singapore, regardless of citizenship. The only exceptions to this rule are covered in the next point.

23. Who is not covered under WICA?
24. Self-employed persons
25. Independent contractors (i.e. freelancers)
26. Domestic helpers (i.e. maids)
27. Members of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Prison Service, Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore Civil Defence Force

If you belong to any one of the above categories, you cannot file a WICA claim for injuries/sickness.

24. What’s the difference between WICA and Foreign Worker Medical Insurance?

Foreign Worker Medical Insurance is an additional type of insurance that’s legally compulsory for foreign workers. Regardless of their job scope, as long as you hire a foreigner, you must buy Foreign Worker Medical Insurance for your foreign employees.

Industries that tend to hire foreign workers, e.g. construction, renovation contractors, etc. will tend to have both WICA and Foreign Worker Medical Insurance. This is because their foreign workers are (usually) manual labourers, which must legally have WICA insurance. Being foreign, they must also have Foreign Worker Medical coverage.

25. How do employees report a work accident?

You should report all work-related accidents and illnesses to your employer.

Here are the steps to report an accident:

1. Seek medical treatment, and tell your employer about your injury ASAP. If you delay informing your employer, they may dispute whether your injury/sickness is actually work-related.
2. File an incident report with MOM, so that the Ministry is aware of your case and can assist you with any disputes.
3. If you have been hospitalised for at least 24 hours or had to take more than 3 days of MC leave for a work-related injury, your employer must inform MOM.
4. Make sure to claim your medical leave wages. Present your original Medical Certificate (MC) to your employer as proof. Make sure you keep a 2^nd copy for yourself.
5. To claim for your medical expenses, present your original medical bills to your employer. Your employer should pay the hospital or clinic directly. If you paid for your treatment first, your employer must repay you.
6. File a report with MOM if your employer fails to pay your medical leave wages or your medical bills. You should also inform MOM if you your employer did not file a report notifying the government that you’ve suffered a workplace injury.
7. Can my employer deduct their Work Injury insurance cost from injury compensation payouts?

No. You cannot deduct or reclaim insurance premiums costs from the compensation you pay to employees.

27. Is Work Injury Insurance compulsory for my company?

Work injury insurance is compulsory for the following types of staff you employ:

1. Staff earning below $2,100/month. (From 1^st April 2021: Staff earning below $2,600/month)
2. Staff performing manual labour, regardless of salary

Under Section 35 of the Work Injury Compensation Act, it is illegal to not purchase work injury insurance when compulsory. Offenders can be jailed up to 12 months, and/or fined up to $10,000.

28. Should I get Work Injury Insurance if it’s not compulsory?

Yes. It covers Covid-19 infections. The cost is very low, making it an attractive deal.

Here are some sample prices for Work Injury Compensation Insurance:

1. Office-based: From $5/month, per worker
2. Outdoor supervisory: From $10/month, per worker
3. Manual labour: $15/month, per worker

You can save up to 25% on Work Injury Compensation Insurance here.