- 26-Apr-2025
- Personal Injury Law
In many cases, injuries that occur during the commute to or from work are not typically covered under workers' compensation laws. However, under certain conditions, employees in India may be eligible for workers' compensation if they are injured while traveling to or from their workplace. The Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 generally focuses on injuries that occur during the course of employment, which may include certain commuting injuries, depending on specific circumstances.
Under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, injuries sustained while commuting (i.e., during travel between home and workplace) are not typically covered by workers' compensation. The Act generally only covers injuries that occur while the worker is performing their duties at the workplace or during work-related activities.
However, there are specific circumstances under which a commuting injury may be covered under workers' compensation:
If the employer provides transportation to the employee (such as a company bus, van, or vehicle), and the employee is injured while using this transport, the injury may be compensable. This is because the worker is considered to be in the course of employment during the commute if they are using employer-provided transport.
Example: An employee is injured while traveling in a company-provided bus. In this case, the injury may be compensable under workers' compensation.
If an employee is traveling for work-related purposes (such as traveling to a client site or for a business meeting), an injury occurring during this travel may be covered under workers' compensation. This includes both direct and indirect travel related to work duties.
Example: A sales representative traveling to meet clients for work-related purposes is injured in a road accident. This injury would typically be covered by workers' compensation.
If the employee is moving between different work locations (for example, traveling from one site to another for work), the injury incurred during this travel is usually considered work-related, and the employee may be entitled to compensation.
Example: A construction worker moving from one construction site to another site owned by the same employer and is injured in a vehicle accident. The injury would likely be covered under workers' compensation.
Some legal interpretations suggest that if an injury occurs while the worker is within the zone of employment (for example, while traveling on a route prescribed by the employer or performing a work-related task), then the injury might be considered work-related and eligible for compensation.
Example: An employee commuting on a designated route provided by the employer, who is injured in an accident, may have grounds to claim compensation.
In general, if the employee is traveling on their own and not as part of an employer-related arrangement (such as using public transport or personal vehicles), injuries sustained during the commute are not covered under workers' compensation laws.
Example: A worker who is injured in a car accident while driving to work in their personal car would not be eligible for compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act.
The coming and going rule typically applies to commuting injuries, which states that if an injury occurs while the employee is commuting to or from their workplace, it is not compensable. The rationale behind this is that the worker is not performing any job-related duties during the commute.
An employee who works at a factory is provided transportation by the employer. While traveling in the company bus to work, the bus meets with an accident, and the employee is injured.
In this case, since the employee was using employer-provided transport, the injury is considered work-related, and the employee is eligible for compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923.
A marketing executive is traveling to a client meeting in another city. During the journey, the executive is involved in a car accident and suffers injuries.
Since the employee was traveling for work-related purposes, the injury is considered work-related, and the executive is eligible for workers' compensation.
An office worker takes public transportation to work and is injured in a bus accident while commuting.
In this case, since the injury occurred while the worker was traveling on their own, the injury is not typically covered by workers' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act, unless the employer has made specific arrangements.
In general, the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 does not cover injuries sustained during the commute to or from work unless specific conditions are met, such as the worker using employer-provided transportation or traveling for work-related purposes. However, workers injured during employer-sponsored travel, while moving between work sites, or while traveling in company-provided vehicles may be eligible for compensation. Employees should consult their employer or legal experts to determine whether their injury qualifies for compensation based on the specifics of their case.
Answer By Law4u Team
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