SPC provisions offer increased clarity on work injury liability

On 18 June 2014, the Supreme People’s Court issued the Provisions on Various Issues Regarding the Handling of Work Injury Administrative Lawsuits, which took effect on 1 September 2014.

This work injury interpretation provides more specific guidance on the circumstances in which an injury suffered by an employee will be considered as a work injury, how to allocate liabilities in cases involving multiple parties, and on other issues.

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The interpretation expands upon existing regulations regarding the scope of injuries that may be considered as work injuries. For example, injuries occurring during social events organised by a company would be considered a work injury.

Furthermore, while existing regulations already state that injuries occurring during commutes to and from work would be considered work injuries, the interpretation makes clear that even if an employee takes an indirect route back home, for example to take care of necessary errands like shopping for groceries, injuries that occur during reasonable stops on the way back home can be considered work injuries.

The interpretation also provides guidance on who will assume liabilities for the employee’s work injury in situations involving multiple parties. For example, if an employee has two or more employers and suffers a work injury, the employer for whom the employee was actually working when the injury took place should assume the work injury liabilities to the employee.

More significantly, if a dispatched worker suffers a work injury while working for his or her host company, the labour agency that employs and dispatches the injured worker should assume work injury liabilities to the dispatched worker.

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