Amended law lets domestic workers claim for occupational injuries, diseases

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Domestic workers are now eligible for payment under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, in a bid to ensure their safety in the work environment.

According to amendments in the act, this means domestic workers, including chauffeurs and gardeners, are now able to claim if they are injured or contract a disease at work.

For years domestic workers were the only category of people apart from soldiers and police officers who were not covered under the act, which means they could not claim compensation for anything that happened to them at work even if they died at work.

However, with the new amendments, government has encouraged domestic workers to claim from the Compensation Fund.

A senior legal officer at the Department of Employment and Labour, Harry Maphologela outlines the claim- process.

“For their claims, they need to bring the employers report plus their ID and if possible, the ID of the employer to submit their claims for the Compensation Fund but if it’s just about the general… then they are entitled to come on their own to make that complaint. The act empowers the Compensation Commissioner to do the investigations. It’s a process of sending out inspectors to go and probe the complaint. They can go to all our legal centres and report if they are being treated badly but it’s all about injury on duty and occupational injury, it’s not about treatment per say unless that treatment results in an injury or disease.”