Proposed amendments to the law "On Compulsory Insurance Against Loss of Occupational Capacity Due to Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases" were passed in the first reading at a plenary session of the Milli Majlis.
The draft law envisages expanding access to compulsory insurance for persons harmed as a result of workplace accidents and occupational diseases, as well as introducing new mechanisms in line with international practice.
Member of the Milli Majlis Vugar Bayramov shared details on his social media account.
According to the deputy, one of the key innovations concerns volunteers and students and pupils undergoing industrial internships. While current legislation provides for compulsory insurance of volunteers, the payment mechanism for insurance premiums had not been defined, meaning that students who experienced an insured event during their internship were unable to receive compensation.
Under the proposed amendments, insurance premiums for volunteers will be paid from the moment the contract concluded with them enters into force, while for students and pupils undergoing industrial internships the premium will be paid within 15 working days from the start date of the internship. As a result, if an insured event occurs after the law comes into force, those individuals will also be entitled to insurance payments.
Another significant change in the draft law concerns the determination of lump-sum insurance payments based not on disability status, but on the degree of loss of occupational capacity.
Under the current rules, disability is not assigned in cases where bodily functions are impaired by up to 30 percent. For this reason, persons who suffered harm as a result of a workplace accident or occupational disease but were unable to obtain disability status were excluded from insurance payments.
If the new amendment is adopted, lump-sum insurance payments will be calculated not according to the claimant's degree of disability, but according to the extent to which they have lost their occupational capacity. This will allow more citizens harmed in workplace accidents to benefit from insurance coverage.
Deputy Vugar Bayramov stated that the proposed amendments to the law will broaden the scope of the compulsory insurance system, ease access to insurance payments, and serve to strengthen the social protection of a greater number of people.