Employer accident insurance

What it means

Employer accident insurance is a levy paid solely by the employer. It covers the employer liability for harm from a work injury or an occupational disease, and the injured employee draws the benefits.

Nothing is deducted from the wage and, unlike most levies, it has no maximum assessment base. It is not guarantee insurance, which covers unpaid wages in insolvency.

Accident insurance concerns only employers and their staff. A sole trader with no employees does not pay it for themselves, and if something happens to them at work, they have no claim to accident benefits. They have to cover themselves, for example with private accident insurance or life insurance.

How it works in practice

The duty starts on the day the employer first takes on a person, whether under a contract of employment or an agreement. Registration with the Social Insurance Agency happens before the first employee starts.

The premium is paid monthly with the other levies, from the same assessment base, and shown in the monthly statement. When an injury happens the employee draws benefits straight from the agency, not from the company.

After an injury the employer draws up a work injury record under the health and safety rules, and the employee claims the benefit from the Social Insurance Agency. We prepare the payroll data for it, above all the assessment bases and the period of incapacity, so that the benefit calculation is not held up.

What to watch out for

Registering the employer and the employee only after work has started. The cover arises by operation of law, so the injured person still draws the benefit, but the company faces a fine and the Social Insurance Agency assesses the missing contributions retrospectively with penalty interest.

If the injury happened because the employer broke safety rules, the Social Insurance Agency can claim the benefits it paid back from the employer by way of recourse. Paid premiums give no protection against this, so unsigned safety briefings and missing protective equipment cost the company twice.