Commencement and duration of injury benefit payment

(1) (a) With effect from 1st January 2001, an insured person who is eligible for injury benefit shall be entitled to receive such benefit from the third day of any continuous period of incapacity for work. Social Security 85 (b) With effect from 1st January 2002, an insured person who is eligible for injury benefit shall be entitled to receive such benefit from the second day of any continuous period of incapacity for work. (c) Notwithstanding subregulation (1) (a) and (b) above, where the incapacity continues for an uninterrupted period of fourteen days or more, the insured person shall be eligible to receive injury benefit from the first day of the said incapacity. (d) With effect from 1st January 2003, an insured person who is eligible for injury benefit shall be entitled to receive such benefit from the first day of any continuous period of incapacity for work. (e) For the purpose of computing the first two days or one day as the case may be, of any continuous period of incapacity for work, Sundays and public holidays shall be included in such computation. (2) [Repealed by S.I. 131 of 2000.] (3) Where an insured person had already had an earlier continuous period of incapacity for work exceeding three days for which sickness or injury benefit under the Act has been paid and the interval between the last day of such period and the commencement of the further period of incapacity for work is no more than eight weeks, injury benefit shall be payable from the first day (including Sundays) of the further period at a rate calculated in accordance with Regulation 40. (4) Where the duration of an earlier period of incapacity for work was less than three days, injury benefit in respect of the further period of incapacity for work shall be payable 86 Social Security from the day of such further period (including Sundays) which, treating the earlier period of incapacity as continuous with that of the further period for the purpose of this Regulation, is the fourth day of such period of incapacity for work. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), injury benefit shall not be paid to an insured person for any day prior to the first date as from which he has been certified by a medical practitioner to have been incapable of work: Provided that the Manager may in special circumstances, pay benefit from an earlier date, subject to paragraph (1), having regard to the prescribed time for claiming benefit. (6) A claim for injury benefit shall be made in the prescribed manner and shall be supported by a medical certificate or by such other evidence as the Manager may require for the purpose of establishing the insured person’s Provided that the Manager may, before deciding a claim to injury benefit, require the claimant to attend for and submit himself to medical examination by one or more medical practitioners appointed by the Board. (7) Subject to Regulation 39, injury benefit shall be paid as long as the incapacity for work resulting from the relevant injury continues, but shall not be paid for longer than one hundred and fifty–six days (Sundays being disregarded) from the date on which the relevant accident occurred. (8) In this Regulation, unless otherwise specified, reference to incapacity for work means incapacity for work resulting from the same accident and reference to a period or periods of incapacity for work shall be construed accordingly. Social Security 87