In various sectors, workers are always at risk of getting injured or contracting an illness while doing their jobs.

This article and the next will review the impact of work injuries on employees and their employers, and the related duties and rights of both parties.

According to the law, a work injury is classified as any accident that occurs to an employee at work or because of a work-related accident and all diseases that are proven to have been contracted in the line of duty or at a workplace.

Likewise, it covers any accident involving an employee while they are traveling between their home and place of work or going to and from their workplace to attend prayers or visit a food establishment.

The definition also takes in accidents that occur during an employee’s movement or transportation while performing a task assigned by their employer.

If an employee suffers a work-related injury or an occupational disease, the employer will be obligated to treat them and to bear all the necessary associated direct or indirect costs.

This could include hospitalization, medical examinations and tests, radiology, prosthetics, and transportation costs to the place or places of treatment.

The date of the injury is considered to be when the first medical inspection of the disease takes place.

What are the rights of an injured employee under Saudi law?

If an employee is temporarily unable to work as a result of a work-related injury, they have the right to claim financial aid equivalent to their full wage for 60 days, and then 75 percent of their pay during the treatment period.

If the duration of treatment reaches a year or if it is clinically determined that it is not possible for the employee to recover and therefore their medical condition would not allow them to return to work, the injury would be considered as a complete disability. In that case, their employment contract would be terminated, and the injury fully compensated. Also, the employer would not have the right to recover any monies paid to the injured employee for their treatment during that year.

But what if the injury resulted in permanent total disability or led to the death of the employee?

In such cases, the injured employee or their heirs would have the right to compensation estimated to be equivalent to the worker’s wages for a period of three years or a minimum of SR54,000 ($14,386).

If the injury resulted in partial permanent disability, then the injured employee should receive compensation in accordance with the approved disability percentage index table, multiplied by the value of the total permanent disability compensation.

Furthermore, any subsequent relapse or complication could also be claimed.

If the work injury resulted in an employee no longer being able to carry out their job role but capable of performing other work, then the employer must employ them in the most appropriate task, without it prejudicing any compensation.

The next article will address an employer’s duties to protect their employees from injury or illness, and consequent issues surrounding an employee’s subscriptions to the social insurance system.

• Dimah Talal Alsharif is a Saudi lawyer and legal consultant. Twitter: @dimah_alsharif