Employer's Dilemma: How to Support an Employee in a Coma After an Accident?

I request your suggestions regarding an employee who was involved in a road accident while on leave and is still in a coma stage after one month of treatment. What are the employer's obligations in this situation?

1. How many months should the employer continue to pay the employee's salary?
2. Does the employer have the option to consider the employee as resigned?
3. The employee falls under the purview of ESI, and the accident report has been submitted. Are there any additional requirements from the employer's side as per the law?

Thank you.

That's a good point that he is covered under ESIC. I hope the employee will be treated at an ESIC/ESIC-referred hospital. He is entitled to wages as per ESIC norms. While he is undergoing treatment, he will be marked as under ESIC treatment and not as an absent employee. Please take care of him. Is he receiving the right treatment, or does he need assistance from the company?

Since the accident happened while the employee was on leave, the question of submitting an accident report to ESI will not arise. I don't know how you submitted the accident report to ESI when the accident did not take place during the course of employment. Anyway, since you have done it, it is the lookout of the ESIC to pay him salary and medical benefits until he is fit to work, and you need not worry about it.

You cannot consider him a resigned employee because he has not resigned. You need not pay salary to him because the salary will be paid by the ESIC. In the case of an employee not covered by ESI, the employer can pay salary until he has a credit balance in his leave account, and after that, no salary will be payable.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Can you please suggest on this - One of our employees met with an accident while on office duty and is out of the ESIC salary limit. What is the rule in this case, as the staff has been on medical leave for more than four months now and still has not recovered? Please advise.

Regards,

Employer's Liability for Medical Expenses and Compensation

An employer is liable to take care of all medical expenses and pay compensation in case of death or disablement that occurs during the course of employment. This is as per the Workmen (Employees) Compensation Act. In the case of employees covered by ESI, this liability is taken by the ESI Corporation. For those who are not covered by ESI, you must take care of their medical expenses until they become fit to work. You should pay them a salary, treating the leave days as leave on medical grounds, and this leave should be over and above what they are otherwise entitled to.

Ensuring Genuine Medical Leave

Coming to the practical side, you should also ensure that the employee is genuinely bedridden because the employee should not take advantage of an accident. If you doubt that they are acting as if they are not fit, you can ask them to appear before a panel of doctors and confirm that they require more leave. The ESIC used to refer such cases to the Medical Board for a decision. Since this is not a case of ESI, you can initiate it.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

In the first case, as referred to by Mr. Rajesh N., the employee will be entitled to Sickness Benefit (referred to as "salary" by Sh. Madhu T.K. in his comments) only if he is entitled to sickness benefit under the ESI Act, 1948, and the rules/regulations framed thereunder.

To be eligible for sickness benefit under the said Act, the insured person must have contributed for at least 78 days in the corresponding contribution period of six months [Rule 55 of ESI (Central) Rules, 1950]. This aspect is always reviewed by the appropriate Branch Office of ESIC before the payment of such benefits is made.

Thank you.