Employees who become infected with COVID-19 at their place of employment, or whilst carrying out their duties as an employee, can claim for compensation for the term of their illness.
In order to be diagnosed with occupationally-acquired COVID-19, the employee must first prove that that exposure to the virus happened in the course of their employment and then must be properly diagnosed with the disease. There must be a chronological sequence between the work exposure and the onset of the symptoms.
Online claims for occupationally-acquired COVID-19 must be made through the following (using the ICD-10 code – U07.1):
- Compensation Fund: CompEasy (www.labour.gov.za)
- Rand Mutual Assurance: CompCare (www.randmutual.co.za)
- Federated Employers Mutual: IMS (https://roe.fem.co.za)
Manual claims can be submitted as follows:
- Compensation Fund: co***********@la****.za or phone 0860 105 350
- Rand Mutual Assurance: co***********@ra********.za or phone 0860 222 132
- Federated Employers Mutual: FE**********@fe**.za or phone 011 359 4300
- Once the Office of the Compensation Commissioner has accepted liability for a confirmed case, temporary total disablement will be paid from the date of diagnosis up to thirty days.
There are further benefits in the event of permanent disablement or the death of the employee. Information on these benefits can be found on www.labour.gov.za.
If you have any questions about other Labour or Land issues, contact McCarthy & Associates Attorneys on (033) 266 6170 or feel free to ad***@ma****.za“>mail us.