Navigating Employee Accidental Death: What Steps Must Employers Take Legally?

We are a software development company. One of our field support employees met with a road accident while driving a bike; he collided with a bus head-on and died on the spot. He was around 80 km away from the duty place in another district and was traveling towards the place of duty in the morning. I would like to know the following:

1. As a company, which Government authorities/Principal employer do we need to inform?
2. The employee joined 4 months back, was on probation, and was covered under ESI. His contribution was paid by the company. Form-12 has been submitted to ESI within 48 hours.
3. Are there any obligations for the company under acts like the Workmen Compensation Act, etc.?
4. Are there any other formalities to be completed by the company, such as entries in the accident register, etc.?

An immediate response from experts and seniors will help us a lot...

Regards,
Vivek Shrivastava

In Form 12 Accident Report itself, there is a reference to the submission of the Accident Report to the Inspector of Factories, and it is also presumed that there is an FIR in the case. Apart from making entries in the Accident Register as prescribed under the ESI Act, 1948, you can pursue the case with the appropriate Branch Office of ESIC for acceptance of the case as that of an employment injury (based on the Form 12 your establishment submitted). This would allow the dependents of the employee to claim benefits as admissible under the said Act if the case is admitted as that of employment injury.

Please also check whether your establishment is covered under EPF. If so, there may be some procedures for a pension.

Thank you.

Thank you for the prompt input. In the latest Form-12 (downloaded from the ESI website and also seen online in the portal), I could not find a reference to the report submission to the Inspector of Factories. The staff mentioned in the reference were field staff supporting client department officials in the field in handling software on mobile devices. Please advise in light of the above.

Regards,
Vivek

You are correct to point out that the issues I have raised are not available in Form No. 12 as listed on the ESIC website. In fact, the said form has been replaced effective from 01/05/2011. It appears that the old form has not been updated on the ESIC website. Furthermore, I am unsure about the proforma of the accident report being utilized online, as the account opening on the website falls under the purview of the principal employers.

If you acquire the updated ESI Act with rules and regulations, you will find the new form in the Regulations. Please refer to columns 7 and 8(E) (regarding the report to the Inspector of Factories and the FIR in the matter) of the same.

However, considering that you have already submitted the accident report, in my opinion, you should follow up on the matter with the relevant Branch Office of ESIC.

Thank you.

In addition to Form 12 under ESIC, the following formalities are also required to be completed:

1. FIR copy from the nearest Police Station
2. Death Certificate of the deceased from the concerned Hospital
3. Post Mortem Report
4. Medical Report
5. Age Proof of the deceased
6. Address Proof of the deceased
7. Name of Family Dependent
8. Age Proof of the Nominee
9. Family Photographs

Thanks,

AK Sharma