Navigating Employee Compensation for On-the-Job Deaths: Is the $8000 Limit Still in Place?

Compensation Calculation for Employee's Death at Work

How to calculate the compensation in case of an "employee's death while on work"? Is the maximum ceiling limit for the same $8000, or has it been removed completely? Please suggest!

It would be great if somebody could provide me with the complete updated Employees' Compensation Act with all the new updates.

Thanks

This is to inform you that at present, the wage ceiling under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 is Rs. 8000/- per month. A copy of the latest notification is attached herewith for your information.

Regards,
R.N. Khola

One of the laborers was working under a contractor in my company. During working hours, he died in an accident. Will the company provide compensation, or will it be the responsibility of the contractor under whom he worked? How does the process for compensation begin, and how is it calculated? Please advise.

Please find enclosed the Workmen/Employees Compensation calculator for calculating compensation in case of death, Permanent Total Disablement, and Permanent Partial Disablement (covered under Schedule I and not covered under Schedule I). I believe it will be helpful to you.

When entering data, only input the Serial Number specified against the List of Injuries Sheet in place of NATURE OF INJURY AS PER LIST OF INJURY SHEET (ENTER SL.NO ONLY). Feel free to reach out for any further queries related to the use of this calculator.

Regards,
Jawed Alam

The contractor is responsible for the payment of compensation as per the Contract Labour Act. In case the contractor fails to pay, then the principal employer shall be liable to make the compensation to the contract labor employed by the contractor. The amount can be recovered from the contractor either by deduction from any amount payable to the contractor under any contract or as a debt payable by the contractor.

I hope it helps you.

Regards,
Shruti

Thank you very much, Mr. Khola, for your valuable guidance. Mr. Jawed Alam's Compensation Calculator is indeed very helpful. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide me with the updated ECA incorporating all the amendments. Additionally, could you please confirm whether an employee covered under ESIC is eligible for any compensation under ECA in the event of death?

Benefits Under Different Labor Laws

Besides the ESIC Pension, what other benefits can his family receive under different labor laws? We have insured him for GPA up to Rs. 2.00 lakhs. Will this amount be included in the total compensation payable under ECA to the deceased employee? Your guidance on this matter would be highly appreciated.

Eligibility for ESIC and Workers' Compensation

Why is an employee covered under ESIC not eligible for receiving Workers' Compensation (W.C.) in the event of death by accident during the course of employment? Can anybody elaborate on this matter?

Regards,
Ratan

I would like to inquire whether the amount of Rs. 8000/- will be on a monthly basis or as a one-time payment in the mentioned matter. If it is on a monthly basis, could you please clarify what the limit would be?

Regards,
Vikram Singh Rawat

Dear Ratan, Section 53 of the ESI Act, 1948, debars us from receiving any compensation under any other Act(s). Section 53 may be read as follows:

53. Bar against receiving or recovery of compensation or damages under any other law. — An insured person or his dependents shall not be entitled to receive or recover, whether from the employer of the insured person or from any other person, any compensation or damages under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (8 of 1923), or any other law for the time being in force or otherwise, in respect of an employment injury sustained by the insured person as an employee under this Act.

R.N.Khola

An employee whose wage/salary is up to Rs. 15,000/- is to be covered under ESI. In case of death or permanent disablement, ESI will take care of the compensation part, and there will be no need to pay compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act since dual benefit is not allowed.

Regards,
M. M. Rao

Gratuity Eligibility in Case of Employee's Death

In the case of an employee's death (age 24 years) while at work, apart from compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act (ECA), how much gratuity is he eligible for if he has only worked for 4 months with the company?

Thank you.

According to the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, we are not required to pay any gratuity to the nominee(s) or heir(s) of the employee.

R.N.Khola

I've read somewhere that in the case of death, the company is liable to pay gratuity until the age of 58 years, considering that the employee would have worked until the age of 58 years, irrespective of the tenure he has served with the company. Please guide me on the amount of gratuity we are liable to pay to an employee who has served only 4 months and died at work. His total monthly salary was 40K, and the basic was 14K.

Regards.

This type of condition where the employer will grant gratuity considering the service period up to 58 years may be present in any insurance coverage. I have given my opinion based on the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

Regards,
R N KHOLA

I would like to reproduce the provision as follows:

Sec. 4 Payment of Gratuity

(1) Gratuity shall be payable to an employee on the termination of his employment after he has rendered continuous service for not less than five years:
- (a) on his superannuation,
- (b) on his retirement or resignation, or
- (c) on his death or disablement due to accident or disease.

Provided that the completion of continuous service of five years shall not be necessary where the termination of the employment of any employee is due to death or disablement. As per Sudha's statement, "the death while on work" has been highlighted where the tenure of the worker is null and void. In other words, his nominee is entitled to gratuity even if he worked for 4 months.

Regards,
KIRAN KALE.

In continuation of the above discussion, how much gratuity is he eligible for if he dies after 4 months (and in one more case, one year) of joining? Will the gratuity amount be for 1 year or until 58 years of age? Though the Payment of Gratuity Act remains silent on this issue, is there any legal liability to pay the said gratuity?

One more thing I wanted to clarify is that a person who serves 10 years with the company and dies while at work, will he get the gratuity for 10 years or until the age of 58 years? Please advise!

Regards

Workmen (Employee) compensation is to be paid based on the relevant age factor mentioned in the table of the Workers' Compensation Act.

What is the amount of compensation in case of the death of an employee?

---

This is the corrected version of the user's input with proper spelling, grammar, and paragraph formatting.

Understanding Compensation Under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923

Compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, is not an accrual-based fund created by any periodical contribution from the employee over time, to be paid back with interest. On the contrary, it is a definite sum of compensation to be paid by the employer to the affected employee, as defined under the Act of 1923, or to his dependents in the event of any employment accident resulting in death or any disablement of a partial or permanent nature. Therefore, no deduction from the employees towards this is permissible, as this Act is applicable only to establishments and/or employees not covered by the ESI Act, 1948.

Regards

Sir, if a worker is covered under the ESI Act, 1948, his/her dependants can claim only under the ESI Act, 1948 and not under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923. Under the ESI Act, 1948, no lump-sum amount is awarded under such death cases due to and out of employment cases. Rather, the amount of compensation (which is called DEPENDANT BENEFIT) is calculated based on the average wages the deceased employee was receiving or his rate of benefits based on contributions made.

Dear Sir,

Please help me in this connection. If a laborer dies due to illness and is not covered by ESIC and EPF, the employer wishes to compensate him out of courtesy. How can we show this amount and under which category?

With regards,
Dilip S