Firms get orientation on non-wage benefits

The Employees Compensation Commission provided an orientation on the Employees Compensation Program to the various companies yesterday held at the Grand Majestic Convention Center.

Atty. Joy Tan, officer-in-charge for the ECP lecture, said that the activity serves as an orientation of the ECP for both the workers and managements of companies. She said that although the ECP has existed for years, few of the workers know about non-wage benefits because employers themselves are not aware of the program.

"We are hoping that the management would cascade the information to the workers," Tan said.

The ECP is a compensation package for both public and private employees, who are registered members of the Social Security System and the Government Service and Insurance System, and their dependents in case of injuries, sicknesses, or deaths that are work related. The ECP is a reimbursement of the employee's actual expenses for the work-related injuries.

Tan added that a part of what the employees pay for their SSS or GSIS monthly contributions goes to the State Insurance Fund from which the reimbursements would come.

All occupational diseases included on the ECC list are "compensate-able" under the ECP. Work connected accidents would also be covered provided the employee is injured at the workplace while performing his/her official duties, or even outside the company while he/she is performing an official function.

Those that are included in the list are deafness, infections, chronic radiation syndrome, glass blower's cataract, poisoning, pneumoconiosis, viral hepatitis, malaria, and pneumonia among others.

Those which are not qualified for compensation are diseases sustained by the worker due to intoxication, notorious negligence, or deliberate act with intention of injuring or killing himself or another.

Benefits that could be granted under the ECP would include loss of income benefits, medical benefits, rehabilitation services, carer's allowance and death benefits. The Loss of Income benefit is a cash benefit given to a worker to compensate for lost income due to his inability to work. Medical benefits include the reimbursements of the cost of medicine for the illness or injury, payments to providers of medical care, hospital care, surgical expenses and the costs of appliances and supplies where necessary.

Rehabilitation services include a physical therapy, vocational training, and special assistance provided to employees who sustain a disability as a result of sickness or injury arising out of employment. Carer's allowance is provided to an employee who suffers a permanent total disability arising out of employment, while death benefits are granted to an employee's beneficiaries at the employee's death as a result of sickness or injury.

The compensation claim can be filed at any SSS or GSIS branch. For SSS members, claimants for sicknesses or accidents should properly accomplish the employee's notification, sickness/accident report, and the sickness benefit application for separated members.

For disability, the claimant should accomplish the disability benefit form, SSS form MMD-102 or the medical certificate, and the sickness/accident report. For medical reimbursement, the Medical Benefit Application and Medical Services form should be accomplished. Beneficiaries who want to claim compensation for deaths should accomplish the sickness/accident report, death benefits claim, report of death, and funeral benefit form.

For GSIS members, among the requirements for a sickness claim are sickness report from the immediate supervisor; medical/clinical records; official receipts for hospitalization, consultations and cost of medicines, drugs or supplies; return of work certification; complete and detailed job description; medical certificate; and service record certified by the employer.

Service record certified by the employer; official receipts for hospitalizations, consultations and cost of medicines, drugs or supplies; medical/clinical records; return to work certification; complete and detailed job description; official travel order; police report; and accident report from immediate supervisor should be submitted for those who want to claim benefits due to work-connected

injury.

The claims should be filed within three years after the accident or the discovery of the sickness. Should the claims be denied by the SSS, the claimant could still appeal to the ECC. - Noreen B. Napoles