Our company had a worker seriously injured due to a labor accident in December 2018. Since there was a structural change in the company in December 2018, the Labor Accident Investigation Team was not established until May 2019. When we completed the documents and submitted them to the Social Insurance Agency, the company was informed that the documents were invalid because the labor accident investigation team must conduct the investigation within 7 days from the date of the accident. May I ask whether the Social Insurance Agency's response is correct?
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Regarding your issue, the Editorial Board of THU KY LUAT would like to provide the following explanation:
According to Clause 6, Article 35 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 2015, the time limit for investigating occupational accidents is stipulated as follows:
- No more than 04 days for occupational accidents causing minor injuries to employees;- No more than 07 days for occupational accidents causing serious injuries to one employee;- No more than 20 days for occupational accidents causing serious injuries to two or more employees;- No more than 30 days for fatal occupational accidents; and no more than 60 days for occupational accidents requiring technical inspection or forensic examination. In cases where the accidents show signs of a crime investigated by the investigation agency but later the decision is made not to prosecute a criminal case, the investigation period starts from the time the Labor Accident Investigation Team receives all relevant documents, items, and means related to the accident.
Except for the case of occupational accidents causing minor injuries to employees, other cases with complicated details may have the investigation period extended once but the extension shall not exceed the stipulated time limits mentioned above.
According to Clause 10, Article 35 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 2015, in cases where the investigation period for occupational accidents exceeds the time limit causing damage to the legal rights and interests of the employees or employers, compensation must be made according to the law.
However, in cases where the investigation period for occupational accidents exceeds the time limit, employees are still entitled to occupational accident policies. Specifically, according to Article 57 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 2015 on the dossier for enjoying occupational accident policies, a labor accident report is not mandatory:
Article 57. Dossier for enjoying occupational accident policies
Social insurance book.
Discharge paper or an extract of the medical record after treatment of the occupational accident in case of inpatient treatment.
The minutes of assessment of impairment of labor capacity by the Medical Assessment Council.
Written request for the settlement of occupational accident policies according to the form issued by Vietnam Social Security after reaching a consensus with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.
Thus, the response from the Social Insurance agency that the dossier is invalid due to exceeding the occupational accident investigation period is not in accordance with the legal provisions.
Hai Thanh
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