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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider COVID-19 infection while working from home still not compensable

COVID-19 infection while working from home still not compensable

Published Sep 30, 2021 02:54 pm

The Employees' Compensation Commission (ECC) is still looking at the possibility of including employees who have been infected with COVID-19 while on a work-from-home arrangement in its cash assistance benefits.

(Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash)

In a virtual Laging Handa briefing on Thursday, Sept. 30, ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan Banawis said that based on their policy, employees who are working remotely are only entitled to benefits on work-related death or injuries.

"Ang nilabas po naming polisiya related sa work-from-home ay yung mga injuries or death pa lang na nangyari sa bahay kung saan sila nagwowork. Hindi pa po kasama ang illness o disease sa aming polisiya (The policy we have issued for work-from-home employees only includes benefits for work-related injuries or death. Illness or disease is not yet included)," Banawis explained.

"Inaaral na po ito kung pwedeng maisama yung COVID-19 na nakuha sa bahay as work-related, pero right now, hindi pa po siya kasama (It is still being studied if the COVID-19 contracted while at home can be included as work-related, but right now, it is not included yet)," she noted.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced in April this year that the ECC board has approved the inclusion of COVID-19 in its list of work-related compensable diseases.

The benefits that can be applied for by employees who contracted COVID-19 while on work-related activities include loss of income benefits, medical reimbursement, death and funeral benefits, and EC cash assistance.

Under the cash assistance, beneficiaries may receive P10,000 for sickness claims and P15,000 for death claims. The ECC earlier said that it had already requested President Duterte to increase the financial aid to P30,000.

According to Banawis, those qualified for the benefits are all mandatory members of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), as well as voluntary members who have made at least a month's worth of payment.

The commission recently announced that COVID-infected workers can now apply for financial assistance to ECC even without going to their office and can just send the requirements through a courier service.

Applicants should send the required documents such as proof of approved employees’ compensation (EC) claim from the Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System, an accomplished cash assistance form, and copies of two government-issued valid identification cards.

They will also be required to submit any of the following documents: medical or quarantine certificate, RT-PCR positive test result, rapid antigen test result with medical certificate of confirmed COVID-19 illness, or EC logbook entry/official incident report.

For death claims, applicants must include death certificate and marriage or birth certificate of dependents or CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record) and birth certificate, if deceased is single.

ECC is a government corporation attached to the DOLE mandated to provide appropriate compensation to workers and their dependents in the event of work-related contingencies such as sickness, injury, disability, or death.

Related Tags

Benefits covid-19 Department of Labor and Employment work-from-home Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) dole
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