86540
Lawyers Network
103860
Users
630
Cities Serving
114
Law Schools Network
59824
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1923
8 of 1923
An Act to provide for the payment by certain classes of employers to their workmen of compensation for injury by accident.
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the payment by certain classes of employers to their workmen of compensation for injury by accident; it is hereby enacted as follows:-
SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This Act may be called the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923.
1[(2) It extends to the whole of India2[* * *].]
(3) It shall come into force on the first day of July, 1924.
SECTION 02: DEFINITIONS
(1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a)3[* * *]
(b) "Commissioner" means a Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation appointed under section 20-;
(c) "compensation" means compensation as provided for by this Act;
4[(d) "dependant" means any of the following relatives of a deceased work- man, namely:-
(i) a widow, a minor legitimate5[or adopted] son, and unmarried legitimate5[or adopted] daughter, or a widowed mother; and
(ii) if wholly dependent on the earnings of the workman at the time of his death, a son or a daughter who has attained the age of 18 years and who is infirm;
(iii) if wholly or in part dependent on the earnings of the workman at the time of his death,
(a) a widower,
(b) a parent other than a widowed mother,
(c) a minor illegitimate son, an unmarried illegitimate daughter or a daughter legitimate or illegitimate7[or adopted] if married and a minor or if widowed and a minor,
(d) a minor brother or an unmarried sister or a widowed sister if a minor,
(e) a widowed daughter-in-law,
(f) a minor child of a pre-deceased son,
(g) a minor child of a pre-deceased daughter where no parent of the child is alive, or
(h) a paternal grandparent if no parent of the workman is alive.
9Explanation : For the purposes of sub-clause (ii) and items (f) and (g) of sub-clause (iii), references to a son, daughter or a child include an adopted son, daughter or child respectively.
6(e) "employer" includes any body of persons whether incorporated or not and any managing agent of an employer and the legal representative of a deceased employer, and, when the services of a workman are tempo- rarily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the workman has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship, means such other person while the workman is working for him;
(f) "managing agent" means any person appointed or acting as the represen- tative of another person for the purpose of carrying on such other person's trade or business, but does not include an individual manager subordinate to an employer;
7[(ff) "minor" means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;]
(g) "partial disablement" means, where the disablement is of a temporary nature, such disablement as reduces the earning capacity of a workman in any employment in which he was engaged at the time of the accident resulting in the disablement, and, where the disablement is of a permanent nature, such disablement as reduces his earning capacity in every employment which he was capable of undertaking at that time: Provided that every injury specified8[in Part II of Schedule 1] shall be deemed to result in permanent partial disablement;
(h) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i) "qualified medical practitioner" means any person registered10[* * *] under any11[Central Act, Provincial Act, or an Act of the Legislature of a12[State]] providing for the maintenance of a register of medical practitioners, or, in any area where no such last-mentioned Act is in force, any person declared by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to be a qualified medical practitioner for the purposes of this Act;13[* * *]
14(k) "seaman" means any person forming part of the crew of any15[* * *] ship, but does not include the master of16[the] ship;
(l) "total disablement" means such disablement, whether of a temporary or permanent nature, as incapacitates a workman for all work which he was capable of performing at the time of the accident resulting in such disablement:17[Provided that permanent total disablement shall be deemed to result from every injury specified in Part I of Schedule I or from any combination of injuries specified in Part II thereof where the aggregate percentage of the loss of earning capacity, as specified in the said Part II against those injuries, amounts to one hundred per cent or more;]
18(m) "wages" includes any privilege or benefit which is capable of being estimated in money, other than a travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession or a contribution paid by the employer a workman towards any pension or provident fund or a sum paid to a workman to cover any special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment;
19(n) "workman" means any person28who is -
(i) a railway servant as defined in20[clause (34) of section 2 of the Railways Act, 1989 (24 of 1989)], not permanently employed in any administrative, district or sub-divisional office of a railway and not employed in any such capacity as is specified in Schedule II, or
21[(ia)
(a) a master, seaman or other member of the crew of a ship,
(b) a captain or other member of the crew of an aircraft,
(c) a person recruited as driver, helper, mechanic, cleaner or in any other capacity in connection with a motor vehicle,
(d) a person recruited for work abroad by a company, and who is employed outside India in any such capacity as is specified in Schedule II and the ship, aircraft or motor vehicle, or company, as the case may be, is registered in India, or]
(ii) employed22[* * *]23[* * *] in any such capacity as is specified in Schedule II, whether the contract of employment was made before or after the passing of this Act and whether such contract is expressed or implied, oral or in writing; but does not include any person working in the capacity of a member of24 [the Armed Forces of the Union]25[* * *]; and any reference to a workman who has been injured shall, where the workman is dead, include a reference to his dependants or any of them.
(2) The exercise and performance of the powers and duties of a local authority or of any department 26[acting on behalf of the Government] shall, for the purposes of this Act, unless a contrary intention appears, be deemed to be the trade or business of such authority or department.
27[(3) The Central Government or the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, after giving not less than three months' notice of its intention so to do, may, by a like notification, add to Schedule II any class of persons employed in any occupation which it is satisfied is a hazardous occupation, and the provisions of this Act shall thereupon apply, in case of a notification by the Central Government, within the territories to which the Act extends, or, in the case of a notification by the State Government, within the State, to such classes of persons: Provided that in making addition, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may direct that the provisions of this Act shall apply to such classes of persons in respect of specified injuries only.]
SECTION 03: EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATION
(1) If personal injury is caused to a workman by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, his employer shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter: Provided that the employer shall not be so liable-
(a) in respect of any injury which does not result in the total or partial disablement of the workman for a period exceeding29 [three] days;
(b) in respect of any30[injury, not resulting in death31[or permanent total disablement], caused by] an accident which is directly attributable to-
(i) the workman having been at the time thereof under the influence of drink or drugs, or
(ii) the wilful disobedience of the workman to an order expressly given, or to a rule expressly framed, for the purpose of securing the safety of workmen, or
(iii) the wilful removal or disregard by the workman of any safety guard or other device which he knew to have been provided for the purpose of securing the safety of workmen,32[* * *]33[* * *]
34[(2) If a workman employed in any employment specified in Part A of Schedule III contracts any disease specified therein as an occupational disease peculiar to that employment, or if a workman, whilst in the service of an employer in whose service he has been employed for a continuous period of not less than six months (which period shall not include a period of service under any other employer in the same kind of employment) in any employment specified in Part B of Schedule III, contracts any disease specified therein as an occupational disease peculiar to that employment, or if a workman whilst in the service of one or more employers in any employment specified in Part C of Schedule III, for such continuous period as the Central Government may specify in. respect of each such employment, contracts any disease specified therein as an occupational disease peculiar to that employment, the contract- ing of the disease shall be deemed to be an injury by accident within the meaning of this section and, unless the contrary is proved, the accident shall be deemed to have arisen out of, and in the course of, the employment:
35[Provided that if it is proved,-
(a) that a workman whilst in the service of one or more employers in any employment specified in Part C of Schedule III has contracted a disease specified therein as an occupational disease peculiar to that employment during a continuous period which is less than the period specified under this sub-section for that employment, and
(b) that the disease has arisen out of and in the course of the employment; the contracting of such disease shall be deemed to be an injury by accident within the meaning of this section : Provided further that if it is proved that a workman who having served under any employer in any employment specified in Part B of Schedule III or who having served under one or more employers in any employment specified in Part C of that Schedule, for a continuous period specified under this sub- section for that employment and he has after the cessation of such service contracted any disease specified in the said Part B or the said Part C, as the case may be, as an occupational disease peculiar to the employment and that such disease arose out of the employment, the contracting of the disease shall be deemed to be an injury by accident within the meaning of this section.]
36[(2A) If a workman employed in any employment specified in Part C of Schedule III contracts any occupational disease peculiar to that employment, the contracting whereof is deemed to be an injury by accident within the meaning of this section, and such employment was under more than one employer, all such employers shall be liable for the payment of the compensation in such proportion as the Commissioner may, in the circumstances, deem just.]
(3)37[The Central Government or the State Government], after giving, by notification in the Official Gazette, not less than three months' notice of its intention so to do, may, by a like notification, add any description of employment to the employments specified in schedule III, and shall specify in the case of employments so added the diseases which shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be occupational diseases peculiar to those employments respectively, and thereupon the provisions of sub-section (2) shall apply38[, in the case of a notification by the Central Government, within the territories lo which this Act extends or, in case of a notification by the State Government, within the State]39[* * *] as if such diseases had been declared by this Act to be occupational diseases peculiar to those employments.
(4) Save as provided by 40[sub-sections (2), (2A)] and (3), no compensation shall be payable to a workman in respect of any disease unless the disease is41[* * *] directly attributable to a specific injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment.
(5) Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to confer any right to compen- sation on a workman in respect of any injury if he has instituted in a Civil Court a suit for damages in respect of the injury against the employer or any other person; and no suit for damages shall be maintainable by a workman in any Court of law in respect of any injury-
(a) if he has instituted a claim to compensation in respect of the injury before a Commissioner; or
(b) if an agreement has been come to between the workman and his employer providing for the payment of compensation in respect of the injury in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
SECTION 04: AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the amount of compensation shall be as follows. namely :- (a) where death results an amount equal to43[fifty] per cent of from the injury the monthly wages of the deceased work- man multiplied by the relevant factor; or an amount of45[Eighty] thousand rupees, whichever is more;
(b) where permanent total an amount equal to46[sixty] per cent of disablement results from the monthly wages of the injured the injury workman multiplied by the relevant factor; or an amount of49[Ninety] thousand rupees, whichever is more.
Explanation 1: For the purposes of clause (a) and clause (b), "relevant factor", in relation to a workman means the factor specified in the second column of Schedule IV against the entry in the first column of that Schedule specifying the number of years which are the same as the completed years of the age of the workman on his last birthday immediately preceding the date on which the compensation fell due; Explanation II: Where the monthly wages of a workman exceed50[four] thousand rupees, his monthly wages for the purposes of clause (a) and clause (b) shall be deemed to be50[four] thousand rupees only;
(c) where permanent partial disablement results from the injury (i) in the case of an injury specified in Part II of Schedule I, such percent- age of the compensation which would have been payable in the case of permanent total disablement as is specified therein as being the percentage of the loss of earning capacity caused by that injury, and
(ii) in the case of an injury not specified in Schedule I, such percentage of the compensation payable in the case of permanent total disablement as is proportionate to the loss of earning capacity (as assessed by the qualified medical practitioner) permanently caused by the injury;
(d) Where temporary a half monthly payment of the sum disablement, whether equivalent to twenty-five per cent of total or partial, results monthly wages of the workman, to from the injury be paid in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2).
51[(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), while fixing the amount of compensation payable to a workman in respect of an accident occurred outside India, the Commissioner shall take into account the amount of compensation, if any, awarded to such workman in accordance with the law of the country in which the accident occurred and shall reduce the amount fixed by him by the amount of compensation awarded to the workman in accordance with the law of that country.]
(2) The half-monthly payment referred to in clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be payable on the sixteenth day-
(i) from the date of disablement where such disablement lasts for a period of twenty-eight days or more, or
(ii) after the expiry of a waiting period of three days from the date of disablement where such disablement lasts for a period of less than twenty-eight days; and thereafter half-monthly during the disablement or during a period of five years, whichever period is shorter: Provided that-
(a) there shall be deducted from any lump sum or half-monthly payments to which the workman is entitled the amount of any payment or allowance which the workman has received from the employer by way of compensation during the period of disablement prior to the receipt of such lump sum or of the first half-monthly payment, as the case may be; and
(b) no half-monthly payment shall in any case exceed the amount, if any, by which half the amount of the monthly wages of the workman before the accident exceeds half the amount of such wages which he is earning after the accident.
(3) On the ceasing of the disablement before the date on which any half- monthly payment falls due, there shall be payable in respect of that half-month a sum proportionate to the duration of the disablement in that half-month.]
52[(4) If the injury of the workman results in his death, the employer shall, in addition to the compensation under sub-section (1), deposit with the Commissioner a sum of57"two thousand and five hundred rupees" for payment of the same to the eldest surviving dependant of the workman towards the expenditure of the funeral of such workman or where the workman did not have a dependant or was not living with his dependant at the time of his death to the person who actually incurred such expenditure.]
SECTION 04A: COMPENSATION TO BE PAID WHEN DUE AND PENALTY FOR DEFAULT
(1) Compensation under section 4-shall be paid as soon as it falls due.
(2) In cases where the employer does not accept the liability for compensation to the extent claimed, he shall be bound to make provisional payment based on the extent of liability which he accepts, and, such payment shall be deposited with the Commissioner or made to the workman, as the case may be, without prejudice to the right of the workman to make any further claim.
86540
103860
630
114
59824