Members Benefits. Personal injury compensation: 8.contents. compensation

Transcription

1 Personal injury compensation: 8.contents Section 8 Personal injury compensation benefits\8.m (1) Issue 5: April 2006

2 Personal injury compensation: 8.contents 8.1 Personal injury compensation Purpose of the personal injury compensation arrangements Who is covered by the personal injury arrangements? Secondments 8.2 Administration of the personal injury arrangements Role of employing departments Applications for injury compensation Annex A Application form for the payment of compensation 8.3 Eligibility for an award Conditions Qualifying injury Establishing disablement Exclusions Benefit Payment of benefit Income tax Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme benefits\8.m (2) Issue 5: April 2006

3 Personal injury compensation: Personal injury compensation Purpose of the personal injury compensation arrangements The CSCS personal injury compensation arrangements provide for benefits comparable to those offered by a typical travel insurance scheme to a person whose duties have taken them sufficiently far away from their normal place of work to justify an overnight stay, and who are then injured or killed whilst off-duty Benefits are payable to: the person covered by the personal injury compensation arrangements. The eligibility conditions set out in this section must be met; or where the person is killed, to his or her estate The benefits are paid as a lump sum. Who is covered by the personal injury arrangements? The personal injury compensation arrangements are not restricted to those who are members of the PCSPS. The people covered by the injury benefit arrangements are set out in table 1. benefits\8.1 (1) Issue 5: April 2006

4 Personal injury compensation: 8.1 Table 1 People covered by the personal injury compensation arrangements People covered Staff of Government departments (NOTE A) All members of the PCSPS. Staff who are not pensionable in the PCSPS (such as casual staff). Staff who are covered by another occupational pension scheme which does not provide compensation for personal injury (such as staff covered by the teachers pension scheme). Staff who have opted out of the PCSPS. Others Ministers of the Crown. People employed in a civil capacity for the purposes of HM Government. PCSPS members who are not employed in the Civil Service. NOTE A The arrangements cover staff serving in the UK and those recruited in the UK who are serving overseas. Locally recruited and employed staff are covered only if there is no satisfactory scheme or injury compensation provided under local legislation. Secondments Persons seconded to and from the Civil Service are covered by the personal injury compensation arrangements to the same extent that they are covered by the injury benefit arrangements set out in section 11 of the PCSPS - see 5.1. benefits\8.1 (2) Issue 5: April 2006

5 Personal injury compensation: Administration of the personal injury arrangements Role of employing departments All employing departments must: deal with the administration of the personal injury arrangements. This includes responding to enquiries and issuing advice; inform their staff of their rights to personal injury compensation Claimants will have the right to have any grievance considered under the internal dispute resolution procedures. Applications for injury compensation All applications for the payment of personal injury compensation must be made on the form PIC1 at Annex A. It is the employing department s responsibility to issue the form to the injured person or, in cases of death, to the personal representative Where employing departments have delegated authority to determine qualifying injuries under the Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme (formerly section 11 of the PCSPS), they may also determine qualifying injuries under the personal injury compensation arrangements Employing departments who do not have delegated powers to determine qualifying injuries must send applications to their awarding authority for determination - see 5.2. benefits\8.2 (1) Issue 5: April 2006

6 Personal injury compensation: 8.2 Annex A 8.2 Annex A Application form for the payment of compensation A sample of the form to be used follows this page. benefits\8.2a (1) Issue 5: April 2006

7 Personal injury compensation: 8.2 Annex A blank page benefits\8.2a (2) Draft A Day

8 Personal injury compensation: Eligibility for an award Conditions A person covered by these arrangements is eligible for compensation when: the injury is a qualifying injury (see below); and the conditions of disablement are met (see below). Qualifying injury The personal injury compensation arrangements are designed to apply where a person is required to: stay overnight away from home because of official duty; or and visit or attend a location sufficiently far away from home to justify an overnight stay even if the individual concerned had made no plans to stay away, sustains a qualifying injury while off duty (see 5.3 for meaning of official duty ) Staff who are posted on a long term tour of duty either in the United Kingdom or abroad will be considered as being working away from their normal place of work for the entire period of their tour of duty A qualifying injury is an injury sustained in an accident on or after 1 April 1997 which causes: death; benefits\8.3 (1) Issue 5: April 2006

9 Personal injury compensation: 8.3 total and permanent loss of sight in one or both eyes; total and permanent loss of use of one or both hands or feet; total and permanent disablement which prevents the person from engaging in paid employment or paid occupations of any kind. Establishing disablement It is for the awarding authority to determine whether the disablement resulting from the qualifying injury is sufficient for the payment of personal injury compensation. NOTE The Scheme Medical Adviser provides advice to the awarding agents about the disablement where necessary. Exclusions The following will not be regarded as a qualifying injury under the personal injury compensation arrangements: an injury which qualifies for the payment of benefit under the Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme (formerly section 11 of the PCSPS); injury caused by, resulting from or attributable to mental illness, pre-existing disease, physical defect or infirmity; suicide, attempted suicide or intentional self-injury; injury resulting from the misuse of alcohol, drugs or other toxic substances; injury caused by or resulting from deliberate exposure to danger (except in an attempt to save human life) or engaging in hazardous pursuits; NOTE It is for the employing department to determine what is a hazardous pursuit, considering each case on its merits. benefits\8.3 (2) Issue 5: April 2006

10 Personal injury compensation: 8.3 where a claim to compensation is not made within 2 years of the date of injury or death. Benefit Compensation is paid in the form of a lump sum. The following amounts are payable: death 25,000 total loss of sight in one or both eyes 15,000 total and permanent loss of one or both hands or feet 15,000 total and permanent disablement that prevents paid employment. 35,000 Payment of benefit Payment of compensation should be authorised within 2 working days after the existence of a qualifying injury is established The compensation is paid by the Paying Authority. Compensation due for injuries sustained on or after 1 April 1998 must be met by the employing department. NOTE For injuries sustained between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 1998, compensation is met by the CS Vote. Income tax The tax position is determined by the nature of the award Payments made upon death are not taxable. Payments made in respect of total disablement are taxable under Section 154 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act In practice, however, that section is overridden by Section 148 of the same Act. Therefore no tax is due on payments made in respect of total disablement. benefits\8.3 (3) Issue 5: April 2006

11 Personal injury compensation: Where the qualifying injury resulted in neither death, total disablement nor termination of employment, then compensation would be taxable under Section 154 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act The rate of tax payable should be assessed on the same basis as any other element of the individual s taxable pay. In such cases, payment of benefit should be increased so that the net compensation payable corresponds to the amounts shown in above. Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Any person who is injured as a result of criminal action while in Great Britain can apply for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS). The adjudicating board normally takes any other compensation award into account when determining the level of compensation under the scheme The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme does not apply where injuries are sustained outside Great Britain When compensation is paid in respect of an injury caused by a criminal act in Great Britain, the awarding authority must send details to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Criminal Injuries Compensation Board The Secretary Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Whittington House 19 Alfred Place LONDON WC1 benefits\8.3 (4) Issue 5: April 2006