- 2 -
amendment will be to extend it to about 87% of all cases. It
will still be open to either the employer or the employee to
appeal against the Labour Department's assessment if they wish.
The other amendments proposed in the Bill are
intended to make the working of the Compensation Board System
more flexible and efficient. At present employees' claims are
sometimes prejudiced by breaks in sick leave arising from purely
technical reasons, such as a gap of a few days between the expiry
of sick leave and the next appointment with the doctor. The
Bill proposes to give Assessment Boards the discretion to
certify such periods as periods of temporary incapacity for
compensation purposes.
Under the present law the Labour Department
representative on the Ordinary Assessment Board has to be a
Labour Officer. It would sometimes be convenient for a Senior
Labour Officer to fill this role. The Bill provides for this.
At present Board decisions can only be reviewed on
appeal by employer or employee.
The Bill provides for a Board to
review its assessment on its own initiative or on the application
of the Commissioner for Labour.
The proposed amendments have the full support of the
Labour Advisory Board and I am confident that they will be
welcomed by both employers and employees.
Sir, I move that the debate be now adjourned.