Employees' Compensation (EC) Program

The Employees' Compensation (EC) program aims to assist workers who suffer work-connected sickness or injury resulting in disability or death. The benefits under the EC program may be enjoyed simultaneously with benefits under the social security program effective June 1984. 

Under what conditions can an injury, sickness or death be compensable under EC?

A sickness, injury, disability or death resulting from an employment accident is compensable if:

  1. The employee is injured at the workplace;
  2. The employee is performing official functions; and
  3. If the injury is sustained elsewhere, the employee is executing an order for the employer.

Under what conditions can an injury, sickness or death be deemed incompensable under EC?

No compensation will be allowed to an employee or the dependents if the injury, sickness, disability or death is due to:

  1. drunkenness;
  2. willful intention to injure or kill himself or another; or
  3. notorious negligence.

What should an employee do to file for an EC claim?

The employer should be notified of the member's sickness, injury or death within five days from the occurrence of the contingency. Notice is not necessary if the contingency occured during working hours, at the place of work and with the knowledge of the employer or representative.

On the other hand, what should the employer do upon the employee's submission of his notice?

Pursuant to Section 2 Rule XVI - Employer's Records and Notices of PD 626 or the Employee?s Compensation Law, all employers are required to keep a logbook to record chronologically the sickness, injury or death of their employees setting forth therein their names, dates and places of contingency and absences. Entries in the logbook shall be made within five (5) days from notice of knowledge of the occurrence of the contingency. Within five (5) days after entry in the logbook, the employer shall report to the SSS those contingencies it deems to be work-connected.

All entries in the employer's logbook shall be made by the employer or any of the authorized official after verification of the contingencies or the employee's absence for a period of a day or more. Upon request by the System, the employer shall furnish the necessary certificate regarding information about any contingency appearing in the logbook, citing the entry number, page number and date. Such logbook shall be made available for inspection to the duly authorized representative of the System.

What will happen if the employer fails to record the sickness, injury or death of any of the employees in the logbook?

Failure of the employer to keep a logbook or to give false information or withold material information already in possesion shall make the employer liable for fifty per cent (50%) of the lump sum equivalent of the income benefit to which the employee may be found to be entitled, the payment of which shall accrue to the State Insurance Fund.

In case of payment of benefit for any claim which is later determined to be fraudulent and the employer is found to be a party to the fraud, such employer shall reimburse the System the full amount of the compensation paid.

Who are the legal dependents of a member?

The primary beneficiaries of a member are the:

  1. legitimate spouse living with the employee at the time of his/her death until he remarries; and the
  2. legitimate, legitimated, legally adpoted or acknowledged natural children, who are unmarried, not gainfully employed, not over 21 years of age, or over 21 years of age, provided that they are incapacitated and incapable of self-support due to physical or mental defect which is congenital or acquired during minority; provided further, that a dependent acknowledged natural child shall be considered as a primary beneficiary only when there are no other dependent children who are qualified and eligible for monthly income benefit; provided finally, that if there are two or more acknowledged natural children, they shall be counted from the youngest and without substitution, but not exceeding five (ECC Resolution No. 2799, July 25, 1984)

The secondary beneficiaries are the:

  1. legitimate parents wholly dependent upon the employee for regular support:
  2. the legitimate descendants and illegitimate children who are unmarried , not gainfully employed, and not over 21 years of age, or over 21 years of age provided they are incapacitated and incapable of self-support due to physical or mental defect which is congenital or acquires during minority.

What will happen to the monthly death pension if the member has no primary and secondary beneficiaries?

If the deceased member has no primary and secondary beneficiaries at the time of death, the benefit will accrue to the EC fund.