Redress And Rights: Evolution Of Employment Injury Compensation Under Indian Labour Law
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 minute ago
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Shubham Kumbhar, Haveli Institute of Legal Studies & Research, Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli
ABSTRACT
Employment injury compensation law is a constitutive element of Indian labour law as an accident at work may cause an immediate strain on the employee’s or dependant’s finances. The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 created a statutory regime where compensation could be granted on a fairly automatic basis subject to the qualifying conditions in relation to employment injury. Doctrinal elaborations of the expression ‘arising out of and in the course of employment’ have clarified the ambit of compensation liability including in respect of an accident occurring outside the workplace.
This paper discusses the evolution of the law from the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 to the Code on Social Security, 2020 with a focus on the doctrine of notional extension as illustrated by Saurashtra Salt Manufacturing Co. v. Bai Valu Raja and General Manager, B.E.S.T. Undertaking, Bombay v. Mrs. Agnes and Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. (P) Ltd. v. Ibrahim Mahmmed Issak. Judicial decisions on physiological injury and the issue of causal connection in the context of the Employees’ Compensation Act are illustrated by Param Pal Singh v. National Insurance Co. Ltd.
The paper further examines the Code on Social Security, 2020 which came into force from 21 November 2025 as the fourth Labour Code. Chapter VII of the Code contains the provisions relating to employee compensation including Sections 74 on employer’s liability, 74(4) on commuting accidents, 76 on amount of compensation, 77 on payment and default, 78 on calculation of monthly wages and 99 on appeals. The Code separately recognises unorganised workers, gig and platform workers in Chapter IX and contemplates appropriate social-security schemes.
The paper argues that while the new Code marks a transition from fragmentation to consolidation, the issues of statutory redress for employment injury are far from complete resolution. The problems of proof of employment, procedural delays, adequacy of compensation and implementation of schemes continue to affect the rights of workers particularly in the informal and unorganised sectors. The paper concludes with suggestions for expedited adjudication, digital claims, periodic revision of compensation and enhanced social-security protection for platform workers.
Keywords: Employees’ Compensation; Code on Social Security, 2020; employment injury; notional extension; commuting accidents; gig workers; platform workers; social security; labour law.
