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Independent contractors are not eligible to claim Work Injury Compensation

Workplace safety and health
  • Lianhe Zaobao (27 July 2011) : Independent contractors are not eligible to claim Work Injury Compensation
  • Lianhe Zaobao (20 July 2011) : Elderly worker unable to claim for work injuries
    Independent contractors are not eligible to claim Work Injury Compensation
    - Lianhe Zaobao, 27 July 2011

    We refer to the letter by Mr Tan Meng Yoke 老员工工伤得不到赔偿" (ZB, 20 July 2011).

    2.   An employee who sustains a work injury is eligible to claim compensation from his employer. Contrary to what was presented in the letter, even if the employee was not paid CPF contribution, he will remain eligible for compensation under the WICA. However, self-employed persons are not eligible for compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA).

    3.   In Mr Tan's case, our investigation revealed that the accident was not compensable under the WICA because there was no employer-employee relationship. Mr Tan was a self-employed independent contractor when he was injured.

    4.   The Ministry has clarified with Mr Tan on the assessment of his claim. We empathize with him and we have briefed Mr Tan on the recourse to Labour Court that is available to him. The Ministry will assist him to have his case heard at the Labour Court.
    Elderly worker unable to claim for work injuries
    - Lianhe Zaobao, 20 July 2011

    I had been working in a company for a year and even though I was injured in an accident during work, the company's boss refused to pay compensation for my injuries. However, after seeking help from the Ministry of Manpower, their investigations established that he was a bankrupt. The Ministry had established that I was not an employee of the company after asking me about the details of my injury, my employment details and salary payments. Even though they had informed me that the medical reports showed that my injuries were work-related, I was told that I could only pursue my injury claim through civil action against my former boss.

    The reason was that the company's boss did not contribute to my CPF and so I was not an employee and was not eligible to claim for my work injuries. I would like to pose the following question to the Ministry: If my boss did not contribute to my CPF, and that does not qualify me as an employee, does that not mean that I am an illegal worker? Even a foreign worker has a work permit from the Ministry because their bosses pay for their foreign worker levies.
     
    A lowly old worker like me – struggling to make ends meet – does not have protection compared to a foreign worker.
    What is even more frustrating is that the Ministry could do nothing even when my former bankrupt boss ignored the Ministry's queries. My complaint to the bankruptcy bureau was equally ineffective.