Navigating Workmen's Compensation: Is Our Employee's Family Eligible for Benefits?

Dear HR colleague,

I have a question regarding how to initiate the Workmen's Compensation system in our organization.

1) Do we need to purchase any specific policy so that our employees can benefit from this compensation, or
2) Can staff members avail compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act directly?

Case: Two months ago, one of our staff members passed away while traveling from Nasik to Mumbai for official work during his weekly off. Now, his family is requesting compensation. Can you please advise if his family is eligible for Workmen's Compensation or not?

Thank you for your guidance.

Dear friend,

Understanding the Employees' Compensation Act of 1923

The statutory liability of employers to pay appropriate compensation to a certain class of employees in the event of their death or disabilities sustained by them in employment accidents, the scales of compensation, methods of computation, authority to dispose of claims, and other relevant matters are elaborately dealt with in the Employees' Compensation Act of 1923. As a progressive employer, if you want to extend such a social security benefit to all your employees without any distinction as to their cadre or classification, it is certainly a welcome decision. You can formulate an overall policy for all the people working in the organization. Therefore, I would request you to go through the provisions of the above Act.

Workers' Compensation Insurance Policy

Regarding your queries, you can take up a Workers' Compensation Insurance Policy with the LIC. Concerning the term "staff," there is no such legal classification of employees under labor laws. To gain clarity on this matter, you can refer to the definition of the term "employee" under the Employees' Compensation Act with reference to the exhaustive illustrations provided in its relevant schedule.

Kindly let me know if you need further assistance or clarification.

Best Regards