You need to pay your employees’ medical leave wages and expenses related to the work accident. There are additional steps for permanent incapacity.
When to report accident
| For fatal accidents |
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| For non-fatal accidents |
- Submit incident report within 10 days from date you were first notified of the accident. Employee needs to be hospitalised or given any instance of medical leave or light duty to consider as non-fatal accidents.
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These are the steps to take
Employer’s responsibilities
You must take care of your workers during their stay in Singapore, including providing adequate food and accommodation. Otherwise, your security bond may be forfeited.
You cannot send your workers home against their wishes if they have an outstanding claim under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA).
If you’re waiting for payment from your insurance company, you must still pay your employee’s medical leave wages and medical expenses first, and get reimbursed later.
Employees can still claim compensation within 1 year of the accident, even if they no longer work for you, or their work passes have been cancelled.
Report accident or notify MOM
You must report a work-related accident to MOM if:
- It results in the death of an employee.
- The employee was given leave (MC or hospitalisation leave) or light duty.
For temporary Incapacity, you should notify the designated insurer immediately when it meets all the requirements:
- Your injured employee’s doctor certified that the injured employee is likely to have suffered permanent incapacity.
- Your employee wishes to claim compensation for permanent incapacity.
You can submit the scanned doctor memo to the designated insurer.
You must report a work-related accident to MOM if:
- It results in the death of an employee.
- The employee was given leave (MC or hospitalisation leave) or light duty.
For temporary incapacity, you should notify MOM immediately if it meets all the following:
- Your injured employee’s doctor certified that the injured employee is likely to have suffered permanent incapacity.
- Your employee wishes to claim compensation for permanent incapacity.
You can notify MOM by uploading the scanned doctor’s memo to WicSubmit.
How to report accident
- Report the work-related accident online.
- (If the doctor issues more MCs or light duty to the injured employee) Update the incident report.
- Inform your insurer about the accident as soon as possible. You can seek reimbursement from the insurer for medical leave wages and medical expenses.
- Pay your employee’s medical leave wages by the next payday upon receiving the original MCs.
- You must pay as long as the MCs are issued by Singapore-registered doctors or dentists, even if they’re from different hospitals.
- Pay the medical expenses directly to the hospital or clinic.
- If your employee has already paid the bills, you must reimburse them within 14 days of receiving the original medical bills.
- You are required to pay as long as the treatment is considered necessary by a Singapore-registered doctor or dentist.
If you dispute the claim
You can dispute an employee’s claim if you think it is not true or it is not work related.
Write or send an email to the designated insurer or MOM to state your reasons. Include the necessary evidence to support it.
When: As soon as possible
After you report the accident, the designated insurer or MOM will send you a medical report form, where applicable.
When you receive the medical report form, you will have to do the following:
- Check that the hospital or clinic on the medical report form is the same as where your employee is being treated.
- If different, you need to make the correction on the form.
- You need to email to the officer-in-charge with the reason why the hospital was changed.
- Send and pay for the medical report form to the hospital or clinic. Provide a copy of the medical report fees receipt to the designated insurer or MOM.
- Pay your employee’s medical treatment or provide a letter of guarantee to the hospital or clinic.
- Monitor and ensure your employee attend all medical appointments so that their condition can stabilise. The hospital can only assess the injury after the employee’s condition stabilises.
Your employee can go to any hospital or medical institution to seek treatment. There are no restrictions on the types of hospitals or medical institutions (e.g. private or restructured hospital) where the employee seeks treatment from.
Receive the notice of assessment (NOA) or notice of computation (NOC)
When your designated insurer receives the hospital’s medical report:
- Your designated insurer will calculate the compensation amount.
- Your designated insurer will issue a notice of computation (NOC) to inform you and your employee of the compensation payable.
- If no one objects, you or the designated insurer is required to issue the compensation cheque within 21 days from the date of service of the NOC.
Any party can object to the assessment. They must complete and submit the objection as instructed in the NOC. Designated insurers and employers must submit their objections through WicSubmit within 14 days from NOC service date if they wish to raise an objection.
When MOM receives the hospital’s medical report:
- We will calculate the compensation amount.
- We will issue a notice of assessment (NOA) to inform you, your insurer and your employee of the compensation payable.
- If no one objects, you or your insurer must pay your employee within 21 days from the date of service on the NOA.
Any party can object to the assessment, but they must complete and submit the objection in the manner and form stated in the NOA.
Failure to pay compensation is an offence, punishable by a fine up to $15,000 or jail up to 12 months, or both.