WORKMEN’S COMPESATION

ACT 1923

ANJITHA LEKSHMI A

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 CONTENTS
2. INTRODUCTION
1. the employers escapism from liabilty
2. object of the act
3. features of the act
4. applicability of the act
2. DEFINITIONS
1) Commissioner
2) Dependent
3) Employer
4) Managing agent
5) Minor
6) Partial disablement
7) Qualified medical practitioner
8) Seaman
9) Total disablement
3. RULES REGARDING WORKMEN COMPEMSATION
A. Employers liability for compensation
4. WHEN IS EMPLOYER NOT LIABLE
5. AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION
6. COMPENSATION TO BE PAID WHEN DUE

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 INTRODUCTION
 The government felt that the working of factories and mines had
become complex and the use of machinery created greater danger to
the workmen.
The GAZETTE OF INDIA, 1922 Emphasize the need of such a
legislation in the following words
“ The growing complexity of industry in this country, with a increasing
use of machinery and consequent danger of workmen along with the
comparative poverty of the workmen themselves renders it is
advisable that they should be protected as far as possible from
hardships arising from accidents”
 Act passed in 1923
 Came into force on 1st July 1924.
 This act doesn't prohibit workman from filing a Civil suit for damages
against the employers.
 The workmen has to choose from 2.
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1) Suit or 2) Compensation
THE EMPLOYERS ESCAPISM FROM
LIABILTY
1. The Doctrine Of Assumed Risks
2. The Doctrine Of Common Employment
3. The Doctrine Of Contributory negligence

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 2. OBJECT OF THE ACT
1. To provide for the payment by certain classes of employees to their
workman of compensation for injury by accident. The compensation
is payable in case of injury is caused by an accident which occurs
either in the course of employment or out of employment.
2. The Royal Commission Of Labor expressed the objects of the act in
the following words
“The provision for compensation is not the only benefits flowing
from workmen’s compensation legislation; it has important effects in
furthering work on the prevention of accidents, in giving workmen
greater freedom from anxiety, and in rendering industry more
attractive.”
3. To impose an obligation upon employers to pay compensation to
workers for accidents arising out of and in the course of employment.
4. The purpose is not only to compensate the workmen in lieu of wages
but also to pay compensation for the injury caused.
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 FEATURES OF THE ACT
• Act provides social security to the workers
• The compensation under this act is payable if the injury has been
caused by accident arising out of or in the course of employment.
• The amount of compensation payable to a workmen or his
dependents on the nature and extent of disablement and his monthly
average wages.
• Permanent total disablement = 600000 & 2.28
Fixed
• Death = 50000 & 2.74

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 APPLICABILITY OF THE ACT
• Covers all workmen employed on railway, factories, mines etc.
• Applies to organized industries and hazardous occupations including
and unloading operations.
• The act does not apply to persons
1. Employed in administrative or clerical capacity
2. Employed in casual work
3. Employed in the armed forces
4. Receiving wages exceeding rs.3500 per month

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 DEFINITION
1) “Commissioner” means a Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation
appointed under section 20;
2) “compensation” means compensation as provided for by this Act; 5
3) “dependant” means any of the following relatives of deceased workman,
namely:—
(i) a widow, a minor [legitimate or adopted] son, an unmarried [legitimate
or adopted] daughter or a widowed mother; and
(ii) if wholly dependant 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 dependant 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 illegitimate or adopted] if married and a minor or if
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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.

4) “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 temporarily
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;
5) “managing agent” means any person appointed or acting as the
representative 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;
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5) “minor” means a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years;]
6) “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 specified 2 [in Part II of Schedule I] shall be
deemed to result in permanent partial disablement;
7) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
8) “qualified medical practitioner” means any person registered under any
Central Act, Provincial Act, or an Act of the Legislature of a 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;
9) “seaman” means any person forming part of the crew of any ship,
but does not include the master of the ship;
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10) “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 of 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.

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 RULES REGARDING WORKMEN
COMPEMSATION
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 exceeding three days
(b) in respect of any injury, not resulting in death or permanent total
disablement caused by an accident which is directly attributable to the
workman having been at the time thereof under the influence of drink or
drugs, or
(c) the willful 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
(d) the willful 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 workman.
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• AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION.—
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the amount of compensation shall be as
follows, namely:—
(a) Where death results from the injury
An amount equal to fifty per cent of the monthly wages of the deceased
workman multiplied by the relevant factor;
Or an amount of eighty thousand rupees, whichever is more;

(b) Where total permanent disablement results from the injury

An amount equal to sixty per cent of the monthly wages of the injured
workman multiplied by the relevant factor; or an amount of ninety
thousand rupees whichever is more;

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COMPENSATION TO BE PAID WHEN DUE AND PENALTY FOR DEFAULT.—
• Compensation under section 4 shall be paid as soon as it falls due.
• 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.
IN CASE OF DEFAULT
• Pay simple interest thereon at the rate of 12% per annum.
DELAYED PAYMENT
• Delayed payment or deposit of compensation entails interest @ 6 %.

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 THANK YOU…

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