A workplace injury in the private sector: the compensation route under two statutes
A worker is hurt at a private workshop in Baghdad. The first medical steps are urgent. Once those are under way, the office of lawyer Ali Barakat, in al-Yarmouk, turns to a different question: under which statute is compensation read, and does it matter whether the worker was enrolled in social security? The answer is drawn from Labour Law No. 37 of 2015, published in the Official Gazette, issue 4386 of 9/11/2015, in particular article 124 and the reporting duty in article 114, read with Law No. 18 of 2023 on workers’ pensions and social security, published in the Gazette, issue 4734 of 28/8/2023.
The first fork: is the worker enrolled?
The file splits at this point. If contributions were being paid and the worker is a secured person, compensation is read from the injury branch of Law No. 18 of 2023. If the worker was not enrolled, article 124 of the Labour Law still applies the injury rules of the social-security statute to that uninsured worker, and the employer pays a set compensation to the Department.
Article 124 refers to “the workers’ pension and social-security law” without naming the number of that law in that place. The law now in force in this field, after its publication in 2023, is Law No. 18 of 2023. The referral is read as pointing to the law in force.
The Court of Labor’s jurisdiction over claims provided for in the social-security law is set in article 166 of the Labour Law. Coverage and contributions in general are set out in who is covered by workers’ social security and in the employer’s social-security duties.
If the worker was not enrolled: what the employer pays the Department
Article 124, first paragraph, states that the provisions on work injuries in the workers’ pension and social-security law apply to uninsured workers. The workers’ social-security department — the name used by the law now in force is the Workers’ Pension and Social Security Department — implements that, under the second paragraph.
The employer pays that Department a compensation covering what the Department owes the uninsured worker, at the rates the article sets, calculated over a single year:
- half of the worker’s daily or monthly wage, across one year, where the injury leaves a partial disability;
- the full daily or monthly wage, across one year, where the injury leaves a total disability or leads to death.
Those percentages appear in the text.
An example. A carpenter who was not enrolled is injured and is assessed as having a partial disability. The employer pays the Department half of that carpenter’s daily or monthly wage, calculated over one year. If the same injury had left a total disability, or had led to death, the rate would be the full wage over that year.
If the worker was enrolled: the injury branch of Law No. 18 of 2023
Article 12 of Law No. 18 of 2023 lists the social-security branches, including the branch for work injuries, sickness and occupational diseases. Article 14 distributes employers’ contributions, including a share for the injury branch that is read from the article in the file.
If contributions were not paid for a stretch of service, that stretch is not counted as secured service. Injury or death of the secured person is the exception carved out in article 32 of the social-security law. Benefits due to a secured worker from the work-injury branch are read from the provisions of Law No. 18 of 2023 in the official file. Where the text requires a medical report, the assessment is referred to the medical committee the law in force designates.
Immediate steps after the accident, and neighbouring statutes
The first-aid and immediate reporting steps after an accident are a procedural path of their own, explained in what to do if a worker is injured at work, together with safety duties in the employer’s occupational safety and health duties. Those pages state what is to be done at once after an injury. This page states which statute is referred to for compensation after that.
Compensation for a workplace injury in the private sector follows the Labour Law and Law No. 18 of 2023. Compensation for those harmed by terrorist operations, military errors and war operations follows Law No. 20 of 2009. The retirement of a public official follows its own statute before the National Retirement Authority. If the facts of the incident call for one of those neighbouring routes, that is read from the description of the facts and from the legal basis of that route.
The measure in this file is the contribution in force, the application of article 124 where the worker is uninsured, and the rules of the injury branch where the worker is secured. The office follows that reading from Baghdad and can be reached on +964 770 848 7526.
Legal basis and sources
- Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4386 of 9/11/2015) — Articles 114, 124 and 166
- Law No. 18 of 2023 on workers’ pensions and social security (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4734 of 28/8/2023) — Articles 12, 14 and 32
Frequently asked questions
Do the work-injury rules apply to a worker who was not enrolled?
Yes. Article 124 of the Labour Law applies the injury rules of the workers’ pension and social-security law to uninsured workers, and the employer pays the Department compensation at the rates the article sets, calculated over a single year, according to whether the disability is partial or total or death results.
Is this the same compensation as that for injuries caused by terrorism?
No. This is the work-injury path under the Labour Law and Law No. 18 of 2023 on workers’ pensions and social security. Law No. 20 of 2009 is a different statute, as is the retirement of a public official.
What if contributions were not paid for a period of service and an injury then occurs?
Article 32 of Law No. 18 of 2023 makes it the rule that a stretch of service is not counted as secured if contributions were not paid. Injury or death of the secured person is the exception. The rule is read from the article in the file.
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