Is My Company Responsible for an Employee's Accident During Commute? Seeking Advice on Liability and Compensation

One of our employees met with an accident while going home from the office at 7:30 pm (our office hours are between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm). He has a severe fracture in his leg. He is covered under ESI, and we also have accident insurance. Currently, he is undergoing treatment using the insurance. I would like to inquire about the following:

1. Is traveling to and from the office considered as being on duty?
2. Is the company liable to pay him any amount/wages for taking leave from the office?

Regards,
KSM

Firstly, the company has no liability or obligation to pay wages once an employee leaves the office premises unless they have left for official work outside the area. Can you explain the reason for the employee to stay at the office until 7:30 pm when the official closing hours are 5:00 pm? Salary for the remaining leave balance in an employee's credit can be adjusted for this period. If the management wishes to extend the benefit of paying wages for such incidents, it can be done on humanitarian grounds, but this cannot be discretionary - I hope you understand the point!

This cannot be claimed through ESIC, as benefits are only extended if the mishap occurs on the office premises or during official work outside the premises after an investigation. As you mentioned that the employee has insurance cover and is covering all expenses with that, I have heard that such insurance policies do cover wages. You may want to inquire about this with the insured company.

Kindly review the information provided and advise accordingly.

Thank you.

Understanding Duty and Employer Obligations

Duty, in the legal sense, is an obligation to perform the allocated assignment, the breach of which may result in contractual liability. Willful negligence in the performance of duty is considered misconduct in employment. Our constitution includes a directive principle of state policy which makes it clear that the state shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work under Article 42 of the Indian Constitution. The spirit of this principle should be followed in the corporate world of this country.

Here, in this case, coming and going to the office may also constitute duty, as the employer is to secure just and humane conditions of work, especially when an employee is temporarily incapacitated due to an accident. Otherwise, there would be no humane face of the employer in the organization.

Wages During Leave Period

Regarding the query as to whether the employee will be paid wages during his leave period, it will be governed by whether he has any kind of leave due to him at his credit or whether he can be sanctioned leave in advance under the leave rule of the organization, considering it from a compassionate angle.

After all, the humane side of management is most important in the discharge of administrative/HR functions in a democratic welfare state.

Regards,
S.G. Bhattacharjee

Guwahati