Absence due to injuries from an assault whilst on duty

If there is any doubt whether or not an absence is directly attributable to an assault on duty, the Secretary of the Public Services Commission should be asked to seek the advice of the Commission's Occupational Health Practitioner.

If the circumstances of the assault on duty are such that there is a possibility of recovering damages from a third party the civil servant should be advised to act as in the case of a civil servant injured due to an accident involving a third party, (See Regulation E46) for the purposes of a claim and required to sign an undertaking using the form at Annex E3 to this Section.

The pay of a civil servant during an absence due to injury as a result of an assault in the course of duty or an assault while not on duty but clearly connected with official duty shall be as follows:

1. if a claim for damages is not to be made, full sick pay, paid irrespective of the amount they would have received under the sick pay rules plus additions in respect of overtime, shift disturbance, or night duty allowances regularly received (calculated on average hours worked over the calendar quarter immediately preceding, unless such work is of a purely seasonal character when an estimate should be made of what they would have received had they not been forced to miss work because of the assault)
   
   
2. if a claim for damages is to be made - an advance equivalent to the amount which would have been paid under (a) above, if no claim for damages had been made, subject to refund if the claim is successful.

The provisions of Regulation E46(b) will apply in respect if the civil servant is unable to claim damages from the third party, or if the claim is wholly unsuccessful, or if the claim is partly successful.