Section 2: Liability of employers for injuries

2. Liability of employers for injuries (1) Subject to subsection (2), where in any employment a workman suffers personal injury by accident which arises out of and in the course of the employment, his employer shall, subject to this Act, be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the First Schedule. (2) (a) Where it is proved that the injury to a workman is attributed to the serious and wilful misconduct of that workman, any compensation claimed in respect of that injury shall, unless the injury results in death or disablement entailing 20 per cent permanent incapacity or more, be disallowed. (b) A workman who, in the course of employment, suffers personal injury as a result of his taking action in an emergency to rescue a person or protect property, or avert or minimise damage shall be entitled to compensation notwithstanding that he has in taking such action acted in contravention of any safety rules or recklessly. (3) In this Act— (a) an accident arising in the course of a workman’s employment shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have arisen out of that employment; (b) an accident resulting in the death or disablement entailing 30 per cent permanent incapacity or more of a workman shall be deemed to arise out of and in the course of his employment, notwithstanding that the workman was at the time the accident happened acting in contravention of an enactment applicable to his employment, or of any orders given by or on behalf of his employer or that he was acting without instructions from his employer, where the act was done by the workman for the purpose of and in connection with his employer’s trade or business. [Issue 1] W9 – 2 Revised Laws of Mauritius (4) Any compensation payable under this Act shall, in addition to any amount prescribed in the First Schedule, include reasonable expenses not exceeding 600 rupees incurred by the injured workman in respect of essential hospital and medical treatment.