TNAG-0531-FCO40-626-Application-of-International-Labour-Convention-to-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 42

- 20 -

Maternity

Invalidity

Woman

Man with wife and two children

45

40

The Convention also provides that the total value of the family benefit should represent (a) 3 per cent of the wage of an ordinary adult male labourer, multiplied by the total number of children of persons protected, or (b) 1.5 per cent of said wage, multiplied by the total number of children of all residents.

the

50. It should be mentioned that the above rates are an internationally accepted minimum standard and in practice a considerable number of national legislations provide higher rates of benefits than those indicated in the above table. Reflecting this, the recently adopted social security Conventions prescribe the following rates in respect of the previous earnings:

60 per cent in case of sickness under the Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130); 45 per cent in case of old age and survivors and 50 per cent in case of invalidity under the Invalidity, Old-age and Survivors' Benefits Convention, 1967 (No. 128); and 60 per cent in the case of employment injury for temporary incapacity for work and invalidity and 50 per cent for death of the breadwinner under the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121).

51.

The rate of pensions payable

in case of total permanent disability (invalidity) is reduced in a suitable proportion in the case of partial disability if loss of earning capacity exceeds a prescribed degree, for example, 30 per cent, below which the cash benefit may take the form of a lump-sum payment because where the degree is nominal or slight the corresponding pension would be а trifling

amount.

52. Social insurance cash benefits are usually paid throughout the contingency in the form of periodical payment. However, in the case of sickness and maternity benefits, it is

usual to provide for a maximum period during which the benefit is payable. Furthermore, the sickness benefit (and, if separately introduced, the employment injury temporary incapacity benefit) may be made not payable for the first few days (but usually not more than three days) of incapacity for WOIK (the so-called waiting period). This would lighten considerably the administrative load as well as the financial burden of the new scheme by eliminating a number of small claims. However, an increasing number of countries now provide that the benefit is payable retrospectively for the waiting period whenever incapacity continues for longer than a prescribed period, such as half a month or one month, and not to impose the requirement of a waiting period where the second spell of incapacity follows the first within a specified time of short duration (for example fifteen days or less).

53.

In order to protect the financing of the social insurance scheme and to avoid abuse, it is necessary to limit the payment of benefits to bona fide members of the scheme, i.e. persons protected

by the scheme. Accordingly, nea bers are required to have been in covered employment for a specified minimum period before being considered eligible for the benefit. Such a period which may be expressed by the number of contributions paid or length of coverage by the scheme is naturally shorter for the entitlement to sickness, maternity and unemployment benefits than for old-age, invalidity and survivors' pensions. The qualifying period for disability pensions and survivors' pensions should, however, be shorter than for old-age pensions, since the contingencies in which the first two pensions are payable may occur in the productive life of the person protected and if a long qualifying period were fixed, it would practically deprive a considerable number of persons of protection. Thus, the qualifying period for invalidity and survivors' pensions is usually reduced to a minimum required as a test that the claimant or his breadwinner was actually in the group of persons protected.

-

54. Where a person protected suffers the contingency concerned as the result of employment injury, the benefit (i.e. temporary incapacity benefit, permanent disability pension or grant - or survivors' pension) is always paid without the requirement of a qualifying period; he should be entitled to the benefit even if employment injury occurs on the first day of work. Furthermore, if a protected person sustains disability or dies as a direct result of an accident, even that of non-occupational origin, the benefit is paid in some cases without applying the provisions concerning the qualifying period. Examples of this type of provision may be found in Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Togo and Venezuela.

the

E-1195-2B:5