COID: reporting injuries and the records you need

When someone is hurt at work, two different laws come into play. The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993, usually called COIDA, deals with compensation and requires the accident to be reported to the Compensation Commissioner. The OHS Act separately requires certain incidents to be reported to an inspector. This guide covers the COIDA side, and how it sits next to the OHS Act.

The employee tells the employer

Under section 38(1) of COIDA, written or verbal notice of an accident must be given to the employer as soon as possible after it happens, by or on behalf of the employee.^[1]

If the employee does not give notice, that does not automatically cost them their right to compensation. Section 38(2) says the failure does not bar compensation if the employer knew about the accident from another source at or about the time, and section 38(3) gives the Commissioner further room, for example where the failure would not seriously prejudice the Compensation Fund or the employer, or was caused by an oversight or another reasonable cause.^[1]

The OHS Act also requires employees to report an incident that has injured them as soon as practicable, and no later than the end of the shift in which it happened, unless that was not possible (section 14(e)).^[3]

The employer reports to the Commissioner within seven days

Section 39(1) of COIDA is the deadline most employers need to know: the employer must report the accident to the Commissioner, in the prescribed manner, within seven days after receiving notice of it or learning about it in some other way.^[1]

This subsection was not changed by the COID Amendment Act 10 of 2022.^[2]

Even if you do not agree it happened at work

Employers sometimes hold back a report because they doubt the injury happened at work. Section 39(7) deals with this directly. For the purposes of the section, an accident includes any injury reported by an employee to the employer if the employee alleges it arose out of and in the course of their employment, irrespective of whether the employer agrees.^[1]

In other words, the duty to report is triggered by the employee’s report, not by the employer’s view of it. Whether compensation is paid is decided by the Commissioner.

If the report is late or not made

COIDA has always treated failing to report as serious. As originally enacted, section 39(6) made it an offence and section 39(8) allowed the Commissioner to impose a fine of up to the full amount of compensation payable for the accident.^[1]

The COID Amendment Act 10 of 2022 replaces sections 39(6) and 39(8) with new penalty provisions.^[2] Check the current position with the Compensation Fund or a practitioner before relying on a specific penalty amount.

The separate report to an inspector

Reporting to the Compensation Commissioner does not take care of the OHS Act. Section 24(1) of the OHS Act requires certain incidents to be reported to an inspector within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner, including incidents where a person dies, becomes unconscious, loses a limb or part of a limb, or is injured so badly that they are likely to be unable to work for at least 14 days.^[3]

Many injuries will need both reports. Some will need only the COIDA report.

Records worth keeping

Whatever form the reports take, these records make each step easier to show later:

• the date and time the injury was reported to you, and by whom
• what happened, where, and who was involved or saw it
• the date you reported to the Compensation Commissioner, and any reference you received
• whether the incident also had to be reported to an inspector under section 24 of the OHS Act, and when it was
• what was done afterwards to stop it happening again

How ProComply helps

ProComply keeps an injury log alongside your issues. When an injury is marked as COID reportable, your admins are notified so the seven day deadline is not missed. ProComply does not submit reports to the Compensation Fund for you, but it keeps the record of what happened and what was done about it, and includes it in your reports.