Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Compensation Process
35. Deemed claim when employer or platform operator has notice of accident
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A compensation claim counts as made when the employer first learns of the work accident. An injured employee must tell the employer or a supervisor as soon as possible. The employer must notify the commissioner and its insurer within the set time. A claim usually counts as withdrawn if the employer has no notice one year after the accident.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Last amended by an amending law of 2024.
A claim for compensation under this Act is deemed to be made —
claim
“claim” means a claim for compensation under this Act and includes a deemed claim under section 35;
by an employee when the employer first has notice of an accident giving rise to the employee’s work injury; or
by a platform worker when the platform operator first has notice of an accident giving rise to the platform worker’s work injury.
An employer has notice of an accident for the purposes of this Act when either of the following events occurs:
employer
“employer” means any person (A) who employs an individual (B) under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government, if B belongs to a class or description of employees of the Government declared to be employees for the purposes of this Act under paragraph (a) of the definition of “employee”;(b)the legal personal representative of A, if A is deceased;(c)a duly authorised agent or manager of A;(d)the person who owns or is carrying on, or for the time being is responsible for the management of, the profession, business, trade or work in which B is engaged; and(e)where B is employed for the purpose of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager or members of the managing committee of that club.
the employee informs any of the following persons of the date and place of the accident and the cause of the injury:
the employer;
the foreman or any other person under whose supervision the employee was employed at the time of the accident; (iii)any person designated for the purpose by the employer; (b)the employer has knowledge of the accident by any other means.
A platform operator has notice of an accident for the purposes of this Act when either of the following events occurs:
the platform worker informs any of the following persons of the date and place of the accident and the cause of the injury:
the platform operator;
any person designated for the purpose by the platform operator;
the platform operator has knowledge of the accident by any other means.
Every employer or platform operator must, within the prescribed time after the employer or platform operator (as the case may be) first has notice of an accident giving rise to work injury to the claimant, give notice of the accident to —
work injury
“work injury”, in relation to an individual, means personal injury that is caused to the individual by an accident arising out of and in the course of the individual’s employment;
the Commissioner in the form and manner specified by the Commissioner; and
the employer’s insurer or platform operator’s insurer (as the case may be) in writing.
An employee must, as soon as possible after sustaining a work injury in an accident, notify the employer or any of the other persons mentioned in subsection (2)(a).
employee
“employee” means an individual who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and —(a)includes every employee of the Government in a class or description declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act; but(b)does not include any class of individuals specified in the Third Schedule;
A platform worker must, as soon as possible after sustaining a work injury in an accident, notify the platform operator or any of the other persons mentioned in subsection (2A)(a).
A claim under this Act is deemed to be withdrawn if the employer or platform operator (as the case may be) of the claimant does not have notice of the claimant’s accident at the end of whichever period specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that ends last:
claimant
“claimant” means an injured individual claiming compensation under this Act;
one year after the date of the claimant’s accident;
if the claimant dies within the period mentioned in paragraph (a), one year after the date of the claimant’s death;
any period ending on a later date specified under subsection (6).
Subject to subsection (7), the Commissioner may specify a period for the purposes of subsection (5)(c) only if the Commissioner is satisfied that the delay was caused by mistake, absence from Singapore or other reasonable cause.
Commissioner
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour appointed under section 3 of the Employment Act 1968;
The Commissioner must not specify a period for the purposes of subsection (5)(c) if the Commissioner is satisfied that the delay was caused by an action for damages being instituted by or on behalf of the claimant in any court for compensation in respect of that accident.
An employer or a platform operator who fails to give notice of an accident to the Commissioner in accordance with subsection (3)(a) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
to a fine not exceeding $5,000; or
if the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (8) if the person who is convicted of an offence under that subsection has been convicted on at least one other earlier occasion of —
an offence under subsection (8); or
an offence under regulation 3(5) of the Work Injury Compensation Regulations (Cap. 354, Rg 1) as in force before 1 September 2020, whether the conviction was before, on or after 1 September 2020.