Can We Implement Accident on Duty Leave for Non-ESIC Employees on Premises? Seeking Legal Insights and Procedures

Dear All,

Greetings for the day!

In our organization, we have employees working in 3 categories:

1. Staff
2. Executive
3. Supervisor

However, for the executive, staff category, and supervisors, we provide medical reimbursement and hospitalization for those not covered by ESIC.

According to ESIC's definition of AOD, a person is entitled while commuting to and from home, not just during working hours.

In our company, we have extended this definition to all employees not covered by ESIC, regardless of their grade.

My manager consulted a renowned labor law lawyer who suggested that employees not covered by ESIC should receive AOD while on the unit premises.

I seek clarification on whether we can implement this, considering all legal aspects and whether non-ESIC covered employees are entitled to this benefit.

I personally believe this leave is a welfare measure for all employees.

Is it appropriate to implement AOD leave within the hotel premises?

If we decide to make changes, what procedures should we follow?

Please note this policy is part of our service rules, and we have unions in our company.

Additionally, as part of welfare, we provide medical reimbursement to staff associates covered by ESIC. Should we extend this facility to employees not covered by ESIC? We also offer insurance benefits to our staff.

I appreciate your prompt feedback on this matter.

With Warm Regards,
Ranjeet

Treating accidents that occur while the employee is commuting to and from the office no longer exists. The ESIC will not accept such cases as on-duty accidents. However, accidents that happen while the employee is traveling for official duty are covered as Accidents On Duty (AOD).

If accidents during the commute to or from the office are included as Accidents On Duty, there is a risk of some employees misusing this privilege. Minor injuries like a sprain or dislocation elsewhere could be falsely claimed to have occurred during the commute. Therefore, defining what constitutes an accident, such as occurrences on the exact route to the office or home as per official records, may be necessary. In case a genuine accident happens at a location different from the recorded route, the employee might be denied medical benefits. Although this scheme benefits employees not covered by ESI, there are significant drawbacks.

Medical reimbursements for ESI-covered employees are valid. Nowadays, medical assistance for dependent parents of insured employees is provided only if the monthly income of these parents is below Rs 1500. Please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Dear Madhu Sir,

Thanks a ton! I really appreciate your efforts to help others. I would like to request you to provide the provision or circular of ESIC for this change because until now, almost all companies have been following the same policy on AOD in ESIC. The latest information I have come across in ESIC is about those smart cards.

Sir, I have some questions regarding the Industrial Dispute Act. I would appreciate your approval to post about it in this topic.

Regards,
Ranjeet

Dear All,

I need your advice urgently on this issue. Mr. Amit, who works in the security department, slipped on the stairs and claimed AOD for 2 months from January 2009 onwards. Now, in November, he is again asking for AOD leave as he has submitted a medical certificate from AIIMS related to the injury. He mentioned that his leg injury has recurred. He is requesting AOD leave again since the initial incident occurred on our premises.

Please advise on whether we should grant him these leaves or not, and what the statutory limitations are in this case. It is possible that he is currently at home; we could ask him to meet with our company doctor.

Your prompt action would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Ranjeet

If you have company doctors, you can ask the employee to consult that doctor and get his certificate. However, it may still be difficult to decide whether the present treatment is in continuation of what happened while on duty. I believe that such an attitude of employees is the greatest evil of Indian organized labor, whereas there are many establishments that do not even bother to follow basic laws like the Maternity Benefit Act.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

Again, I am facing the problem with the same employee. We have stopped his salary for this month and consulted the lawyer. The lawyer told us to give him only his Privilege Leave, not AOD.
Need your advice as this case is going to be more difficult.

Continuous illness is one of the legal reasons for the termination of employment as per the Industrial Disputes Act. If your Standing Orders support this, please explore the possibility of terminating him by mutual agreement. You can also direct him to appear before the Medical Board failing, which to face disciplinary action.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Dear Madhu Sir,

Our employment manual states that a person's services will be terminated on the grounds of continuous illness of 6 months or more. Whether we can consider his injury as an illness is a question. Secondly, he sustained this injury while working on the premises. Injuries can indeed be considered as illnesses.

What are the various measures we can adopt now?

Regards,

Ranjeet

Leave due to and following an employment injury cannot be treated as continuous illness on the basis of which services can be terminated. However, in the present case, his absence is not due to a genuine reason. If you feel that he is taking the matter for granted, you can proceed with an enquiry or ask him to report before your medical board for examination. If he refuses, then it will be deemed that he is not interested in following the policies of the company, and it will then become misconduct, which, in turn, will be grounds for disciplinary action.

However, in such proceedings, the obligation to prove that he has been taking undue advantage of the employment injury rests with you only. Therefore, you will have to gather all evidence to prove that he is not sick.

Regards, Madhu.T.K