Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Act, 1948

Institution of proceedings to recover compensation under the Act of 1934 in non-fatal case where workman in receipt of voluntary payment.

7.—(1) Where a workman is being paid, otherwise than under an order of the Court or a weekly payment agreement duly registered under Part VI of the Act of 1934, a periodical payment purporting to be by way of compensation under the Act of 1934 in respect of an injury by accident (including an accident occurring after the commencement of the Act of 1934 and before the appointed day) arising out of and in the course of his employment, the workman may, notwithstanding any rule of law or anything contained in the Act of 1934, maintain proceedings for the recovery of compensation under the Act of 1934 for such injury.

(2) Where—

(a) proceedings are, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, instituted by a workman for the recovery under the Act of 1934 of compensation for an injury, and

(b) the Court decides to award compensation, and

(c) the accident causing the injury occurred more than six months before the date of the hearing of the proceedings,

the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) if the workman was at the date of the accident under twenty-one years of age, the amount of the weekly payment may be such amount (not exceeding in any case fifty shillings per week) as would be awardable if the workman had at the time of the accident been earning the weekly sum which he would probably have been earning at the date of the hearing of the proceedings if he had remained uninjured;

(ii) if it is claimed and proved that, had the workman remained uninjured and continued in the same class of employment as that in which he was employed at the date of the accident, his average weekly earnings during the twelve months preceding the date of the hearing of the proceedings would, as the result of fluctuations in the rates of remuneration, have been greater or less by more than twenty per cent. than his average weekly earnings during the twelve months previous to the accident, the amount of the weekly payment shall be such amount (not exceeding in any case fifty shillings per week) as it would have been if the rates of remuneration obtaining during the twelve months previous to the date of the hearing of the proceedings had obtained during the twelve months previous to the accident;

(iii) if an application is subsequently made under section 25 of the Act of 1934 to review the weekly payment, the weekly payment, as fixed by the Court under this subsection, shall, for the purpose of subsection (3) of the said section 25, be deemed to have been varied by a review under the said section 25.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the appointed day.

(4) This section shall be construed as one with the Act of 1934.