Bureau of Labor Insurance Proactively Helps Workers Return to Work Easily After Occupational Accidents!
To provide comprehensive protection for workers who have suffered occupational accidents, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) has launched the Referral Mechanism for Insured Persons Claiming Occupational Accident Injury or Sickness Benefits to assist affected workers in connecting with services related to returning to work and rehabilitation, so as to facilitate their smooth return to the workplace.
The MOL stated that after the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act came into effect in May 2022, it established accredited medical institutions and occupational rehabilitation institutions for occupational injury/illness (hereinafter referred to as “accredited institutions”) to assist affected workers with diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and enhancement of their work abilities, and to formulate work resumption plans to help them return to the workplace smoothly. Therefore, in order to ensure that workers receiving occupational accident injury or sickness benefits can promptly connect with relevant assistance measures for returning to work, the Bureau of Labor Insurance (hereinafter referred to as the “BLI”) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (hereinafter referred to as the “OSHA”) have cooperated to proactively assist workers who have reached medical stability but are still unable to return to work by providing them with services such as occupational rehabilitation, job enhancement, or assessment of fitness to return to work at nearby accredited institutions, starting from October 1 this year. The OSHA will also notify local government’s occupational accident professional service personnel to provide necessary assistance.
The MOL cited an example: Ms. Wang works as an in-home caregiver. She suffered an occupational accident on her way home after finishing work, resulting in a “fracture of her right upper limb, dislocation of the radial head, and sprain of the radial ligament of her elbow”. She underwent surgery, hospitalization, and general rehabilitation for nearly 6 months, during which time she continued to receive occupational accident injury or sickness benefits. Although Ms. Wang was assessed by doctors to be in stable medical condition and able to resume normal work, her hand strength, muscle endurance, and body coordination had not recovered to pre-injury level, making her unable to handle the workload required for caregivers. She felt perplexed about how to return to work. After the BLI discovered the issue, it activated the referral mechanism and proactively notified Ms. Wang to visit a nearby accredited institution to receive occupational rehabilitation and job enhancement training. Through simulated caregiver work scenario training, she enhanced her job abilities. After two months of intensive training, she finally managed to return to her original position.
The MOL reminds workers who have suffered occupational accidents that they are entitled to occupational rehabilitation allowances during the period when they receive intensive occupational rehabilitation training from an accredited institution. After the intensive training is completed, they can apply to the municipal or county/city government. If an employee who suffers an occupational accident is diagnosed by an occupational medicine physician at an accredited institution as still requiring recuperation and unable to undergo occupational rehabilitation, they can continue to apply to the BLI for occupational injury or sickness benefits to ensure their safety in life.