Labour Deputy Minister, iNkosi Holomisa hails Compensation Fund initiatives to improve service delivery and efficiency
The suite of initiatives being introduced by the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund stand to improve service delivery and introduce efficiency in its business processes.
Labour Deputy Minister, iNkosi Phathekile Holomisa said these initiatives will benefit both the employers and injured employees and also improve the lives of those whom the Fund is mandated to service.
The Labour Deputy Minister was addressing a stakeholder engagement session last night (December 4) organised by the Compensation Fund together with the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) held at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel in Durban.
Holomisa said back in 2015, the Fund introduced an action plan that aimed at addressing amongst other things the inefficiencies in the business process, improving services to clients and interacting more regularly with stakeholders.
He said the list of actions identified in the action plan included two major policy issues; revenue assessment model and introduction of a return to work programme as well as a programme to hold regular sessions with key stakeholder groupings.
During October 2018, the Fund completed all its preliminary work of developing the policies that would make these two actions come to fruition, he said. The Deputy Minister said in addition, the Regulation on Revenue Assessment and COIDA Amendment Bill were published in the government gazette for public comments on the 18th October 2018.
Holomisa’s address before the SAIPA in Durban yesterday evening (December 04) is part of the Compensation Fund Commissioner’s initiative to engage with various stakeholders to discuss issues of mutual interest and improve service delivery.
SAIPA has over 10 000 members which include qualified professional accountant in practice, commerce and industry, academia, and the public sector.
To ease the burden and complexity of managing different rates applicable to employers in terms of COIDA, the Compensation Fund has announced that it has revised its assessment model. The Compensation Fund will be reducing the industry rating classes from 24 to six.
The six new rates were developed working with Actuaries to ensure they take into account the risk characteristics of the different industries based on the claims history of each industry.
The Compensation Fund said the continued use of the many rates contributes to some inefficiency for both the Fund and the employers as disputes and audit referrals often delay the ability of employers to obtain their certification of good standing. Introducing reduced assessment classes will simplify the process of dealing with the Compensation Fund.
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