Zama worked for a delivery firm. On 25 March on his way to drop off an order, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. He suffered severe injuries in the accident. When he went back to work after being in hospital for 6 weeks his employer told him that there was no longer any work for him. It is now a year after the accident happened. Zama still has not received any compensation. His employer has not paid him anything since the date of the accident.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

Zama’s accident happened during the ‘course and scope of his duties’ so he is covered by the Compensation Fund. (See Who can claim compensation from the Fund?)

The employer must report the accident to the Compensation Fund on FORM W.C.L. 2 as soon as it happens. The doctor must fill in FORM W.C.L. 4 after the first visit by the injured employee. (See Steps to claim disability)

An employer has to pay compensation (that the employee would normally receive from the commissioner) to the injured employee for the first 3 months from the date of the occupational injury. The Compensation Fund will repay the employer for the money that was paid.

The employer also owes Zama’s wages, notice pay and any outstanding leave pay. The employer should also have followed certain procedures to dismiss him, and have had a good reason to dismiss him. (See Notice; See Dismissals)

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Zama can claim the first 3 months salary from his employer after suffering from the injury (the commissioner will repay this to the employer).
• If you are concerned that your employer did not report the case to the Compensation Fund Commissioner you can email a letter to them providing details of the name of the employee, the name of the employer, and the date of the accident. You can send the email to cfoutbound@labour.gov.za. (See Model letter to Compensation Commissioner asking whether the accident was reported).
• Always include the claim number in any correspondence if you have it. Also include a completed FORM W.C.L.3 which will save the employee time if the accident has not been reported. (See Compensation Form WCL3)
• If the employer did not report the accident, the Compensation Commissioner will send a W.C.L.3 form to you. The employee must complete this. The Compensation Commissioner will take action against the employer for not reporting the accident.
• If the accident was reported, send a letter to the Compensation Commissioner asking them why there has been such a long delay in paying out the compensation. Check that the commissioner has all the correct addresses. (See Model letter to the Compensation Commissioner asking for reasons for the delay in paying) The Compensation Commissioner must tell you exactly what is causing the delay. They may ask you to send them a missing form or give them the correct address of the employee.
• You can try to get Zama’s wages, notice pay and any outstanding leave pay from the employer. If this is not successful, you can lodge a complaint with the Department of Employment and Labour. (See Problem 2: Employee wants to claim notice pay and leave pay)
• Zama may have been unfairly dismissed and he should therefore take action against his employer. However, he has missed the deadline for lodging a dispute with the CCMA so he will have to apply for condonation to make a late application. (See Problem 4: Dismissed employee wants the job back – how to apply for reinstatement or compensation; See Solving disputes under the LRA; See Problem 18: Employee is injured on duty and loses the job)