The Work Injury Compensation Act: Who it covers

The Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) allows employees who have sustained injuries in a work-related accident or contracted an occupational disease to claim work injury compensation. Dependants of employees who died in a work-related accident are also eligible for compensation.Claimable compensation includes medical leave wages, medical expenses and permanent incapacity or death.

Unlike civil claims, compensation is generally payable under the Act regardless of whether the employer is at fault, as long as the employee had suffered an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment or had contracted an occupational disease as defined under the Act. The compensation benefits are computed based on fixed formulae and capped under the Act. 

Once an employee decides to pursue his claim under the Act, he will generally no longer be able to lodge a civil claim against his employer for damages.

Guide to the Work Injury Compensation Benefits and Claim Process

Guide for Employers	Download (700 Kb)
Guide for Employees	Download (1.45 Mb)

Who Can Claim Work Injury Compensation?

Employees who have sustained injuries in a work-related accident or contracted an occupational disease are entitled to claim work injury compensation. Dependants of employees who died in a work-related accident are also eligible for compensation.

The Act covers all employees except the following:

• Self-employed persons;
• Independent contractors;
• Domestic workers;
• Members of the Singapore Armed Forces;
• Officers of the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Prison Service.

When Is Work Injury Compensation Payable?

Compensation is payable when an employee suffers personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment or has contracted an occupational disease as defined under the Act. An accident arising in the course of an employee's employment (i.e. during working hours or while on official duties) is regarded as having arisen out of that employment, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

Compensation is also payable under the following circumstances:

• An employee meets with an accident while traveling as a passenger to and from his place of work in a vehicle operated by or on behalf of his employer and the vehicle is not public transport.
• An employee who is residing in Singapore and employed by an employer in Singapore, meets with an accident in a place outside Singapore where he is required to work.

Employers remain liable to pay work injury compensation to the injured employees even if their employment or work passes have been terminated.