Background

The Employment Injury Insurance Regulation which came into force in 2004 and amended in 2010 provides that contribution to employment injury insurance is the compulsory and sole responsibility of employers. The Social Insurance Law adopted in 2010 provides workers the right to claim benefits under circumstance where employers haven’t made employment injury insurance contribution for them. This is based on the principle that a failure of paying the stipulated contributions to employment injury insurance does not affect the entitlements of individual employees to employment injury benefits. According to Article 41: “If employers fail to pay the stipulated contributions to employment injury insurance, in case of occupational injury accidents, the employers shall pay for the employment injury insurance benefits. Employment insurance fund shall advance such payment if the employers don’t pay such costs. Employment injury benefits paid in advance by the employment injury insurance fund shall be repaid by the employers. If the employers do not pay, social insurance agencies shall be entitled to recover such payment in accordance with the provisions of Article 63 of this Law.

For the case of occupational injury caused by the third party, for example, traffic accident on the way to or back from work, Article 42 provides that “employment injury caused by the third party and the third party does not pay medical expenses or if the third party cannot be identified, the employment injury insurance fund shall advance such payment. After such advance payment by employment injury insurance fund is paid, the fund shall be entitled to recover the payment from the third party.

The aim of the above-mentioned provisions is to protect and help workers, especially rural migrant workers, get timely medical treatment and basic income protection under the circumstance of occupational injury. Since the Social Insurance Law came into force in 2011, there has been actual challenges in the implementation of the advance payment of Employment Injury Insurance due to various reasons. The workshop has been organized to review the progress and challenges of advance payment, introduce the ILO principles and good practices of other countries, and explore the future direction of the advance payment mechanism.

Objectives

To identify problems in the implementation of advance payment, share international good experience, and contribute to the preparation for the formulation of implementation methods on the advance payment

Outputs

• The current situation of the advance payment and the problems through case analysis reviewed;
• Progress and challenge of advance payment in some localities identified and analyzed;
• International experience, especially those of Germany, in advance payment, management model, financial arrangement have been shared with MOHRSS officials and the local officials who are responsible for employment injury insurance.