004_ACC_April_2016

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If an employee was in permanent, full-time
employment immediately prior to incapacity, but
was previously employed by the same employer
for less than 30 hours a week: weekly earnings will
be the greater of:
• earnings calculated as above; or
• weekly earnings calculated as if the employee
was not in permanent employment immediately
before his or her incapacity commenced. The
first four weeks prior to incapacity are divided
by the number of full or part weeks during
which the earnings were earned to determine
earnings for the 4-week period. Then for any
subsequent period, all earnings in the 52
weeks prior to incapacity are divided by 52
or by any smaller number that might apply.
A smaller number will apply if at any time
during the 52 weeks the employee received
weekly compensation and/or had more than
one week’s continuous period of unpaid sick
leave (such weeks must not be counted in
working out the payment entitlement).
Someone previously employed who suffers an
incapacity but who would not have been expected
to work continuously for a further 12-month period
if the incapacity had not happened, is considered not
to have been in permanent employment immediately
before incapacity commenced. Earnings in such
cases are calculated as set out under the second
bullet point above. This would apply to employees
in fixed term employment.
For certain low-income earners in full-time
employment prior to incapacity special provision
is made in Schedule 1 of the Act for an increase in
weekly earnings. The increase (if an amount has
not been set in regulations made under the Act) is
to the greater of:
• the relevant minimum wage under
the Minimum Wage Act; or
• 125 percent of the relevant rate of invalids
benefit under the Social Security Act, if the
employee remains incapacitated five weeks
from the commencement of incapacity.
Shareholder employees
Shareholder employees may purchase weekly
compensation and if they do, their employer is not
required to pay the Work Account levy in respect
of their earnings. However, this does not affect the
employer’s obligation to pay the portion of the Work
Account levy that is payable in respect of the earnings
of that employee. The Act sets out the way in which
weekly compensation is to be calculated where this is
payable to a shareholder employee.
Treatment costs
The Corporation must pay the cost of treatment
necessary to restore an injured employee’s health
to the maximum extent practicable, but must first
agree what treatment will be provided. Without
prior agreement, the Corporation is not liable to pay
treatment costs, except in the case of an emergency
where acute treatment is required.
Treatment must be necessary and appropriate and
of the required quality. It must be carried out at an
appropriate time and place by a qualified person who
normally does provide that kind of treatment, but not
for any longer time than is necessary to restore health.
In deciding whether or not to pay for treatment, the
Corporation must take into account the nature and
severity of the injury and what, in New Zealand, is
the generally accepted treatment for an injury of
that kind. It must also consider any other available
options, together with the cost of the usual means
of treatment and that of other options compared
with the likely benefit to the injured employee. The
Corporation must pay for any ancillary service that
will assist an employee to obtain treatment. The term
‘ancillary service’ covers things like accommodation,
transport, transport escort for treatment, prescribed
pharmaceuticals, and laboratory tests.
The Corporation may ask injured employees to
supply information about their injury and about the
treatment they want, and unless the information is
provided, may refuse to pay the costs of treatment.
It must not, however, refuse to pay because the
injured employee declines to pay any part of the
treatment provider’s fee that the Corporation is
liable to pay, or because the injured employee has
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