National Social Security Authority (Accident Prevention and Workers' Compensation Scheme) (Amendment) Notice, 2024 (No. 24)
NSSA's funeral grant is set at US$200, payable in ZiG at the official rate, backdated to 1 January 2024 — and employers who fail to report an accident face a level 5 surcharge for every day late, up to 90 days.
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has amended the 1990 Accident Prevention and Workers' Compensation Scheme notice (S.I. 68 of 1990) in four places. The notice is effective from its date of publication, 31 May 2024.
The money change readers will care about most: where a worker dies in an accident, or a pensioner on a worker's pension dies, the general manager may authorise a payment of US$200, with effect from 1 January 2024. It is payable in ZiG at the prevailing official bank rate on the date of payment, so the ZiG figure moves with the rate rather than being fixed.
A second change limits liability. The general manager's liability, or that of an employer individually liable, is capped at US$5 000 or the ZiG equivalent at the prevailing official exchange rate. The cap can be exceeded: where the general manager is satisfied on a medical certificate that the injury was serious, he or she must determine such additional amount as is just.
On widows' and widowers' pensions, the new section 40 makes the pension payable at the same time as any other benefit under the scheme, but limits a person to one widow's or widower's pension at a time. Where someone is widowed twice, they take the greater of the two pensions.
The penalty for late accident reporting is now two-tiered. An employer who fails to report is guilty of an offence and, on top of the penalty in the Act, must pay the general manager a surcharge at level 5 for each day the accident goes unreported, up to 90 days. If the employer is still in default after 90 days, they are liable to a fine not exceeding level 5, or up to six months' imprisonment, or both. The level 5 amount itself is set by the standard scale of fines, not by this notice.
What changed
- Death benefit on the death of a worker or a worker's pensioner set at US$200, with effect from 1 January 2024, payable in ZiG at the official bank rate
- Liability of the general manager or individually liable employer capped at US$5 000 or the ZiG equivalent, subject to a medical-certificate uplift for serious injury
- A widow or widower may hold only one widow's or widower's pension at a time, taking the greater where twice widowed
- Employers who fail to report an accident pay a level 5 surcharge per day late, up to 90 days
- After 90 days in default, an employer faces a fine of up to level 5 or up to six months' imprisonment, or both
Who this affects
- employers registered with NSSA
- widows, widowers and dependants claiming NSSA death benefits
- workers injured on duty and pensioners on worker's pensions
- payroll and safety officers responsible for accident reporting
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.