Whether Company Top Executive Eligible For Employees Compensation ?

Dear All,
I work with a Logistics Company as HR Manager & one of our Top Executive officer was killed during a visit abroad.The visit was done as a part of one of our project happening abroad.
From our Company Side we had taken all the expenses for moving the dead body from aboard to his home place & we had given his family the group insurance amount.
Now his Wife & 1 child is approaching the court for getting compensation from our company side.
Do we need to pay his family compensation?
Does he comes under Employers compensation Act?
His monthly drawing salary was more than 80000/month..
Xavieer

Dear Xavieer
There is no question of denying compensation.
Why this doubt ? Or is anyone from your company against it ?
Warm regards.
Raj Kumar

Dear,
As per Sec 53 of workmen's compensation act 1923............
"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 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."
As he was already covered under group insurance and you have already got the insurance amount paid,you are not responsible now to compensate his family from employer's pocket.
Regards
S.Roy

Dear S. Roy
What you have quoted is misleading. It might lead to a wrongful action which might be taken by the concerned member.
Workmen's Compensation Act 1923 has now been renamed as Employees'Compensation Act. There is no section 53 in it, as quoted by you.
Prima facie, a reading of what you have quoted in itself implies that it is not about Workmen's compensation Act.
Kindly ascertain from your notes/references, whether you are talking about the Employees Compensation Act or Employees State Insurance Act 1948 ??
Can an employee getting a salary of Rs. 80,000 be covered under the ESI Act ???
Warm regards.

Compensation under EC Act is available only to employees as defined under the Act.The top executive officer is not falling under the definition.Salary is not a condition for coverage.Whatever is the salary for the calculation of compensation it will be restricted to Rs 8000/pm.
Varghese Mathew
9961266966

Dear Xavierr,
I would like to draw your attention to my reply to discussion no.418525 regarding whether a software engineer is an employee under the Employees Compensation Act,1923. You have just mentioned that the deceased was a top executive - if he was predominantly discharging administrative functions, he was not an employee.

Dear All,
Thank you for your input. But pls gave me clarity on the following points also
- He was our Group Head for Marketing - Whether he comes under the employee compensation act as an employee?
- From our company side we had given the group insurance amount to his family so do we have the obligation to pay a compensation to his family other than that amount because his wife approached our company for compensation.
- He worked with us for more than 5 yrs & he was died during an assignment at abroad during a robbery attempt.

How much compensation or insurance amount has given to the nominee of deceased person? What about gratuity? Earn leaves?Salary settlement?

From our side we had released only a part payment of his outstanding dues including salary ,gratuity & group insurance because our company lawyer suggested us to collect a succession certificate

Dear Xavierr

The intentions of your company does not seem to be bonafide.

Why only a part payment was released ??

Knowing fully well the hardship the family must be undergoing after the on-duty death of its earning member !!!

And now the company is trying to avoid payment of any compensation for death during the course of employment !!!

Why is the need of a succession certificate here ?? What about the Nominations as given by the deceased employee ??

Why was this simple routine procedure referred to the Company lawyers (unless the company wants to shy away from its responsibility and dues) ??

This was a regular HR action. What happens if the Company lawyer gives the opinion that unless there is a decree by court, no payment needs to be done ??

Would you wait till the aggrieved part files a court case and then wins the case after some years ??

(Meanwhile the ex-employee's family suffers) !!!

It is impossible to bring back a dead employee to life; but the least an employer can do is pay all the dues of the dead employee gracefully to his dependents.

Its a very deplorable for a company to withhold final payments even in case of death on duty.