If your workers compensation claim is accepted, you may be able to receive weekly compensation for lost wages. This will be paid to you by WorkCover – or, if your company is a self-insurer, from the self-insurer – like your wages normally would.
Once your claim is accepted, WorkCover will determine how much weekly compensation you will receive. However, “wages” under the WorkCover legislation do not include superannuation contributions, and WorkCover will not make contributions to your superannuation fund on your behalf.
If and when your weekly compensation payments end, you may decide to make a common law claim for damages, where you can claim back the superannuation payments you lost during your time off work since the accident.
In some circumstances, your employer might still have to pay your superannuation when you are receiving workers’ compensation payments. This will depend on the specific terms of the modern award or agreement you are covered by.
Workers Compensation Claim Payments and the Superannuation Guarantee
- No Guarantee When Not Working: Generally, employers aren't required to pay your Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution while you're receiving workers' compensation and not actively working. This is because these payments aren't considered "ordinary time earnings" upon which SG is calculated.
- Exceptions When Partially Working: If you return to work part-time while still on workers compensation benefits, your employer must resume superannuation payments based on the hours you actually work.
Your Award/Agreement May Matter
Some industrial awards or workplace enterprise agreements may include additional superannuation entitlements specifically for instances of workers' compensation. If this applies to you, your employer might still be required to contribute to your superannuation fund even while you're not working.
Compensation for Lost Superannuation in Common Law Claims
If your employer was at fault, and your injuries are serious enough to warrant a common law claim (suing your employer for negligence), your compensation can include past and future superannuation losses because of your injury-related absence from the workforce or a reduced earning capacity.
Here's how it works:
- Estimating Losses: Experts in your case help calculate not only what you would have earned in wages but also the superannuation contributions your employer would have made during that period. This includes projected losses into the future if your injuries impair your future earning potential.
- Seeking Fair Compensation: Common law claims offer a pathway to claim compensation for these lost superannuation contributions, helping ensure your retirement savings aren't severely reduced due to an event that wasn't your fault.
What Should You Do?
- Check Your Rights: First, carefully examine your employment contract, award, or relevant workplace agreement to determine any superannuation clauses relating to workers' compensation.
- Understand Your Benefits: Contact WorkCover Queensland or your employer's self-insurer to clarify the ongoing superannuation payments available to you based on your circumstances.
- Get Legal Advice for Significant Injuries: If you've suffered a severe injury, legal advice from a workers' compensation expert is crucial to assess whether you might be able to claim for lost superannuation through a common law claim. Smith’s Lawyers are work injury claims experts, and we offer free initial advice and risk-free claims.
Resources:
- WorkCover Queensland: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
- Fair Work Ombudsman: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/workers-compensation/payments-and-leave-while-on-workers-compensation
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO): https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Super-for-employers/
