Work Injury Benefits
Disability / Work Injury Benefit
Work injuries are divided into four categories: (i) permanent total incapacity, (ii) permanent partial incapacity, (iii) temporary incapacity, and (iv) fatal injury leading to the death of a worker.
Accidents occurring to workers or paid or non-paid apprentices in whatever capacity at whatever location by whatever causes while performing their duty, whether or not they are the result of the workers' fault, are regarded as work-related accidents. In addition, accidents, which occur to workers during their journey from home to work, or from work to receive their wages and their return, without detour to other places for personal interests or to places not required by the work, are also regarded as occupational accidents.
Prakas 243/2002 was a pre-NSSF, transitional rule on notifying work accidents and calculating compensation; since Cambodia implemented the NSSF Employment Injury scheme, the operative framework is Prakas 109/2008.
Under Cambodia’s employment-injury system, benefits are set by the Law on Social Security Schemes and NSSF rules. NSSF pays the benefits, while employers fund the scheme through an occupational-risk contribution of 0.8%. For temporary disability, the cash benefit is 70 percent of the worker’s daily average wage starting on day two of incapacity when the injury requires more than four days of hospitalisation; the employer pays day one; payments can run for up to 180 days in a 12-month period, and a doctor may also authorise a caretaker allowance. For permanent disability, an assessed disability below 20 percent gives a lump sum based on the daily average wage, the degree of disability, and an actuarial factor; at 20 percent or more, the worker receives a pension based on the same elements; at total disability, there is an extra caregiver allowance equal to one-half of the pension. For survivors, the pension depends on family composition: spouse or children only get 56 percent of the daily average wage; spouse with children gets 42 percent for the spouse and 28 percent for the children; spouse with children and dependent parents gets about 37.8 percent for the spouse, 25.2 percent for the children, and 7 percent for the parents. These levels show the scheme routinely pays at least half of the reference wage.
Sources: §252-253 of the Labour Law, promulgated by Royal Order No. CS/RKM/0397/01 of 13 March 1997 (amended in 2021); Prakas 243/2002; ISSA Country Profile; Prakas No. 109/2008 on Employment Injury Benefits as amended by Prakas No. 140/2010) and Prakas No. 480/2018; Prakas No. 449/2017 on contributions.
