Even where employers are conscientious in keeping their workplaces safe accidents can happen. To relieve employers of the burden of being sued by employees for accidents occurring at the workplace the state instituted the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) several decades ago. Should a workplace injury comply with the legal definition the employer is required to report it to the Compensation Commissioner. The Compensation Commissioner is to compensate employees with valid claims for medical expenses, loss of the use of body parts and/or loss of remuneration due to injury induced absence from work.

Some employers acquire workplace injury cover from private insurance companies. Where such insurance companies believe that an injury claim is not valid, they will refuse to pay it.

In the case of Sophia Bent vs Rand Mutual Assurance (PTY) LTD (SAFLII 9 December 2025. High Court case no: A120/2025) Bent had knocked off from work and had to walk down the stairs of the employer’s premises because the lift was out of order. While descending the stairs she slipped and injured her ankle.

The employer dutifully submitted a workplace injury claim to its insurer, Rand Mutual Assurance. The insurance company turned the claim down because, in its view, Bent had not been injured during the course of her employment as defined by COIDA. Bent took the matter to the high Court which had to grapple with the statutory meaning of the words ‘in the course of employment’ as defined in COIDA.

Based on a superficial interpretation of this definition Bent’s injury would have fallen outside of the key phrase of the definition, ‘in the course of employment’. The Court looked at the question more broadly and noted that the employer, in reporting the accident, had considered it to be a workplace injury per the definition of COIDA.

The Court further cited the finding in the case of De Gee v Transnet SOC Ltd (ZAGPJHC 2; 2020 (2) SA 488 (GJ) (29 January 2019) in which the High Court had stated some years earlier that  “… a workman is acting in the course of his employment when he is …. doing something in discharge of a duty to his employer, directly or indirectly, imposed upon him by his contract of service.” And “… after a workman has finished his day's work and started out on his way home, his employment continues while he is traversing the premises on which he has been working and any private means of access thereto which he is entitled to use by reason only of his status as a workman.”

The author concurs with the Court on this point, and believes that it is an implied contractual duty of all employees to vacate the employer’s premises after finishing work. This is what Bent was doing when she sustained her injury. As such she was, in my view, injured while carrying out a work-related duty.

Having adopted a broad interpretation of what ‘in the course of employment’ meant the Court ordered the insurance company to pay the employee both full compensation for her injury and the employee’s legal costs.

All those involved with the workplace need to understand the true meaning of workplace laws so as to avoid the pitfalls of adopting narrow definitions.

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Written by Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address: ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za. Go to: www.labourlawadvice.co.za  

To access our groundbreaking video series: WALKING THE NEW LABOUR LAW TIGHTROPE please go to www.labourlawvideos.co.za or contact Ivan on ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za