Journey Claim: it’s a real thing!

A journey claim is a type of workers’ compensation claim that encompasses injuries sustained by an employee while they are in transit to or from their workplace.

It’s common knowledge that when an employee suffers an injury at work they are entitled to make a claim for workers’ compensation: a type of insurance that can pay the wages and medical costs of individuals injured due to their employment.

It is less known that an employee can make a claim for compensation even if their injury happened on their way to work or on their way home. A journey claim is a subclass of workers’ compensation claim that encompasses injuries received by an employee while they are in transit to or from their workplace.

Under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, employees are entitled to compensation if they suffer an injury while on a journey that is deemed to be in the course of their employment. This means that if an accident occurs during an approved work-related journey, the employee may be eligible for medical expenses, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs.

Generally, a journey claim refers to an injury sustained when:

• travelling between the employee’s home and place of work
• travelling to or from training relating to the employee’s work
• travelling to or from medical or rehabilitation treatment that is part of an existing WorkCover claim
• running work-related errands
• travelling between jobs with separate employers
• travelling for work-related reasons (i.e. a work conference or meeting) locally, interstate or internationally.

The mode of travel can be by car, public transport, bicycle or foot.

The crucial stipulation is that the injury must have taken place “in the course of employment,” which implies that the injury must be significantly linked to your employment.

To be compensated, the employees needs to have started their journey. If the injury is sustained at the employee’s home, they are not considered to have started their journey and won’t be able to be compensated.

There are some exceptions to a journey claim being accepted. The one that commonly applies is that an employee is not eligible for compensation if the injury happens during or after a substantial deviation from or interruption to the usual journey. A claim may not also be accepted if the employee breaks the law whilst in control of the vehicle and this is a significant contributor to the accident.

It’s relevant to note that legislation that governs the eligibility of a journey claim differs from state to state…what might apply in one state might not be the same for the other. As a general rule?  An employee who has sustained an injury while moving to or from their job may qualify for a journey claim.

The laws around employment and HR can be tricky. And while the internet can be a great source of general knowledge, you want to be sure you’re getting the right information for your business, people and operating environment. There’s no shortage of HR Consultants who claim they can help but where do you start? How about getting good answers to some basic questions?

When you’ve finished that mission, give Bare Bones Consulting a call. We get it right first time, we make things simple and we don’t lock you into any memberships or subscriptions. Easy.