How Should We Handle Salary for an Employee on Probation After an Accident?

I am having the following query.

In this case, one of our employees met with an accident while he was on duty. He was on leave for 15 days due to hospitalization. The company has paid all his medical bills.

Salary Calculation for Employee on Leave

Now, my query is, how to calculate his present working days when calculating salary. The employee is requesting full salary, but our director states that we cannot provide full salary as he was on leave and still under probation, thus not eligible for leave benefits.

Expecting advice from the experts.

Hi, my advice is to let him enjoy all the leaves which have been accumulated on a pro-rata basis. Also, since the treatment and medical expenses have been reimbursed, you can convince the employee to avail of what he has in his leave balance. If that particular employee is eligible for ESI benefits, let him apply for ESI leave for the medication period, in case he was treated by an ESI doctor/hospital.

Regards,
Ravichandra

Accident Benefits During Probation

The probation period has nothing to do with accident benefits. If he was under ESI, he can get treatment and disablement benefits from ESIC. Otherwise, if he is an 'employee' under the EC Act, he is eligible for reimbursement of medical expenses and 25% salary for 15 days.

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Regards

Irrespective of whether the employee comes under ESIC or not, if the employee meets with an accident while coming to duty, the company must bear the expenses for the treatment.

In your case, your organization can show flexibility by providing leaves to the injured employee.

In my opinion, you can suggest to your management that they allocate the employee 20 days of leave in advance with full salary. These 20 days can then be deducted from the next year's leave balance. For example, in January 2015, when the employee is given leave based on the previous year's workdays (let's assume 30 days), only 10 days will be credited (subtracting the 20 days allocated as advanced leave in 2014).

This flexible policy can help maintain a harmonious relationship between the employee and the employer, indirectly leading to increased commitment and loyalty from the employee towards the organization.

I endorse the view expressed by Mr. Chaturvedi. You can consider giving advance leave to cover his leave of absence from duty, and the leave advanced could be offset next year. Please inform this to the employee.

In our company, I have implemented this (even for personal reasons - like attending a marriage out of town) for our employees who do not have their leaves carried forward. In the above-cited situation, the case is very genuine, and the employee concerned was hospitalized due to an accident he met while on duty.

Thanks,

R. K. Nair

Employee Accident Benefits and Compensation

When an employee, whether a probationer or confirmed, meets with an accident, he is liable to enjoy all the benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, ESI, or any other applicable laws. The injured person should be granted Accident Leave until he reports for duty. If the accident leave exceeds more than three days, he shall be paid fifteen days' salary as compensation until he resumes work. In addition, he is also entitled to be reimbursed for all his medical bills, hospitalizations, medicines, etc. If there is any loss or permanent disablement of any part of the body, he should be paid compensation as stipulated in the Act. Such incidents should be reported to the authorities in writing.

No deviation should be made between probationer or confirmed employees. In the case of an accident, the employer is responsible for payment.

Regards,
Adoni Suguresh
Sr. Executive (Pers, Admin & Ind. Rels) Rtd
Labour Laws Consultant

Calculation of Salary During Temporary Partial Disablement

If the employee is absent due to temporary partial disablement, he will receive 25% of his wages for the first half of the month on the 16th day, and another 25% of his monthly wages for the second half of the month. Thus, if he is absent for 30 days, he will receive 50% of his monthly salary.

The central issue here is whether the affected employee, being a probationer, could be sanctioned leave for the period of confinement due to the accident and paid leave salary. From the details given in the descriptive part of the question, it is clear that the mishap was an employment accident, and because of this, the management had borne the entire expenses of the treatment. It is also not in dispute that the absence of the entire 15 days was the actual period of hospitalization for treating the injuries sustained in the employment accident.

Let's forget about the applicability of either the ESI Act or the E.C Act to the establishment or the individual, as the case may be, since the issue is not at all connected with the compensation payable for the injuries sustained in the accident. When it is an admitted fact that the absence from work was due to hospitalization for the treatment of the injuries caused by the employment accident, it is my considered opinion, out of pure common sense, that the absence should be treated as duty, and he should be paid wages.

I agree that common sense and human decency demand that the employee be given full paid leave when involved in an accident during the course of employment. However, the law actually requires the employer to pay only 50% of wages in such a case. The law may be unfavorable in this situation, but until it is changed, the employer is legally bound to pay only that amount. I too hope he will receive a full salary and that this will not be considered as leave, but he is not required by law to do so.

Employee Compensation for Temporary Disability

Sec. 4(1)(d) of the Employee Compensation Act states that in cases where temporary disability, whether total or partial, results from the injury, a half-monthly payment equivalent to twenty-five percent of the monthly wages of the workman should be provided, to be paid in accordance with the provisions of subsection 2.

The half-monthly payment mentioned in clause (d) of subsection (1) should be made on the sixteenth day, assuming the occupation is covered under the schedule. It is notable that very few cases are not covered by the act following the latest amendment.

All my dear friends,

For the sake of easy reference, let me briefly present a quick recap of the question and the answers given by the learned friends M/S Varghese Mathew, Ankit Chaturvedi, and Adoni Suguresh:

Question Recap

Since the affected employee is a probationer and the sanction of all admissible leave could only be done on a pro-rata basis within the period of probation, how his request for the sanction of leave with salary for the 15 days of confinement in the hospital for treating the injuries can be entertained is the gist of the question.

In a nutshell, whether he is entitled to salary/wages for the period of absence of 15 days due to hospitalization immediately following the employment accident.

Opinions from Experts

Mr. Varghese's view is that if the period is treated as leave, he is entitled to only 25% of his monthly salary for the 15 days.

Mr. Chaturvedi is of the opinion that he could be granted (what is otherwise called as Leave-not-due) advance leave with full salary to be adjusted against his future leave.

Mr. Suguresh is of the opinion that he should be granted "Accident Leave" and in the case of exceeding 3 days, he shall be paid 15 days' salary as compensation till he resumes duty.

The last respondent has cited Sec.4(1)(d) of the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, in support of the above viewpoints.

Personal Viewpoint

I am afraid whether the learned respondents inadvertently resorted to the computation of compensation for the disability caused to the employee instead of his eligibility to ask for leave with salary/wages for the entire period of hospitalization. The object and purpose of the E.C Act 1923 is only to provide compensation for the disability caused to the employee due to employment accidents based on his loss of earning capacity. It is not concerned about any leave provision in this regard. The term disability is not used in the Act in its common meaning but only with reference to the loss of earning capacity caused by the employment accident. Section 4 of the Act comes into play only on the resultant effect of the employment accident with reference to the physical impairment or disability, its nature, and extent. Sec.4(1)(d) is relating to half-monthly payment based on 25% of the monthly wages in case of temporary disablement. That's why provisions for review u/s6 and commutation u/s7 are provided.

Therefore, my personal view is that (a) the employee should be granted leave with salary for the entire period of hospitalization (b) his probation period may be extended accordingly.

Regards,