Freelancers or Workers Employed by Natural Persons May Participate in the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance through a Special Enrollment System.
Changes in the forms of employment in the society have led to an increase in the population of non-standard employments or gig-economy. To protect the work and life safety of these workers, a special enrollment system has been established under the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act (Hereinafter referred to as the “Occupational Accident Insurance Act”). Workers hired by natural persons employers or individuals actually engaged in the work may also participate in the Occupational Accident Insurance (Hereinafter referred to as “Occupational Accident Insurance”) through a convenient enrollment channel.
The special enrollment system shall apply to the following three types of workers: (1) For natural persons as employers and their employees (for example, foremen and their employees), the employer may enroll himself/herself and the employees. (2) For individuals who actually participate in the work (for example, delivery drivers and street artists), the worker may apply for himself/herself. (3) For the child labors (for example, child stars) who meet the requirements set forth in the Labor Standards Act, the application may be filed by the one who receives the labor services.
To accommodate the temporary requirements for enrollment, the BLI provides to the public three convenient options for application: 1. ibon kiosks in 7-Eleven Convenience Stores. 2.the BLI’s official website. 3. Occupational unions announced on the official website. Please note that, for the applications filed through the special enrollment system, the insurance coverage shall commence on the actual time when the premium payment has been completed, or on a designated date after completing the premium payment. The BLI reminds the workers to complete the enrollment and premium payment before starting working, so as to enjoy the protection of the occupational accident insurance.
The BLI pointed out that, foreign home caregivers and domestic helpers (Hereinafter referred to as “Migrant Domestic Workers”) are subject to compulsory enrollment under the Occupational Accident Insurance Act. They are therefore not applicable to the special enrollment system. The BLI will, based on the data of work permits of the migrant domestic workers provided by the Workforce Development Agency, proactively inform the employers of the convenient methods for enrollment, so that they can establish an insured unit and enroll for the migrant domestic workers accordingly. The BLI will also send premium payment bills to the employers so that they can make quarterly payments.
The BLI encourages the applicable persons to enroll in the occupational accident insurance through the migrant system, so as to obtain basic life protections in the event of occupational injury or sickness. For more details, please visit the BLI’s official website/Online Applications/Special Enrollment System under the Occupational Accident Insurance Act.