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You may be able to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) if you have suffered a degree of disablement from being injured in an accident or developing certain medical conditions during the course of your work.

The RCN Welfare Service has assisted members to successfully claim IIDB on the grounds of Post-COVID Syndrome (long COVID).

The DWP Industrial Injuries scheme provides no-fault, tax-free benefit for any employee who suffers a personal injury in an industrial accident, prescribed injury, or prescribed industrial disease whilst working, or on an approved employment training scheme/course.

IIDB covers both temporary and permanent disabilities.

The benefit is not means tested, so it makes no difference whether you are working or off sick, or whether you have savings in the bank. Even if you have not paid National Insurance contributions, you can still claim this benefit.

Industrial accidents

An accident may occur at work or during the course of your work (e.g. travelling to see a patient if you鈥檙e employed in the community or travelling to and from a course which you鈥檙e being funded for or have been given time off for by your employer.)

There are two steps to take. You should follow both of these steps even if you think the accident is not serious.

Step 1

Complete an accident report and record the incident in the accident book for the employer. This can be completed retrospectively but should ideally be done as soon as possible after the accident. Keep a copy for your own records too.

Step 2

Complete Form BI100A to register a claim for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Forms are available from the IIDB centre, by telephone or online via the following link: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: How to claim - GOV.UK. 

If a claim relates to an accident, you should claim within 2 months after the accident. This is because you cannot get benefit for the first 15 weeks (90 days not including Sundays) after an accident and will not normally be medically examined until after this time.

If you have any relevant medical evidence, send it with the claim form but do not delay claiming by trying to get new medical evidence otherwise there may be a loss of some benefit. This is because Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit cannot be paid:

• for a period more than 3 months before the date of your claim or
• more than 1 month before the date of claim if a person is already receiving Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for other accidents or diseases.

It is very important that you complete the BI100A form with as much detail as you can and return it to your Regional Industrial Injuries Benefit Centre as soon as possible.

If you need help completing the form, you can contact the Barnsley Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Centre for guidance.

How does the IIDB centre process a claim?

When the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit鈥�(IIDB) centre receives a completed BI100A form as part of the claims process, they will look into the incident by contacting the employer for a copy of the original accident form.

In most instances it is clear whether an 鈥渁ccident鈥� has happened, and whether it was 鈥渋ndustrial鈥� or not. However, case law has expanded these concepts to include less obvious situations (e.g., verbal harassment can constitute an 鈥榓ccident鈥�), so it is always advisable to complete the registration form and claim benefit.

If your claim is rejected

If the claim is not successful, and you do not agree with the decision reached, the RCN Welfare Service can assist and advise on the merit of requesting mandatory reconsideration or appealing.

Medical Examination

If your claim is accepted, you will be required to attend a medical examination with the DWP medical service to determine the 鈥渓oss of faculty.鈥� The examination will be carried out by 1 or possibly 2 doctors who are specially trained in industrial injuries disablement matters. You can give the doctor any evidence which was not included with your claim form, if you think it will help them to give an opinion on your level of disablement.

Degree of disablement and awarding the benefit

Benefit will be paid if a level of disablement is assessed as being 14% or more. Benefit can be paid regardless of whether a person is working or whether their income has been affected.

Any award of benefit is made for a set period, and subject to reassessment.

If you disagree with the medical officer鈥檚 assessment

If a claimant disagrees with the medical officer鈥檚 assessment, they have 1 month in which to appeal. You should seek advice if you wish to appeal any benefit decision. You should be aware that the DWP may revise an award and reduce the level of assessment on appeal instead of increasing it.

Wear and tear injuries

鈥榃ear and tear鈥� injuries e.g., cumulative damage to the back, can only be claimed in certain specific circumstances.

Nursing Students

Nursing students who are injured in the course of their training should register the injury but may not be considered for benefit.

Delaying a claim may mean a loss of benefit income

Remember that benefit is payable from 90 days after the original accident. Delaying a claim may mean a loss of benefit income. Always retain copies of all forms completed and letters written as evidence.

If in doubt, claim.

Industrial Diseases

There are over 70 prescribed industrial diseases for which benefit can be paid, however some are restricted to certain professions.

If you think you have contracted/developed a disease in the course of your work, you should seek advice from your GP and the immediately. The DWP lists all of the diseases prescribed in Appendix 1.

If your condition is not prescribed or listed in this guide, you may still be able to claim IIDB under the “accident” provision of the benefit as case law has shown that the catching of a disease can be accepted as an industrial accident e.g. long COVID. If this is the case, refer to guidance above regarding industrial accidents.

To claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) for a prescribed disease you will need to get the correct form, BI100PD, from the .

There are different forms for each group of diseases, so you should tell the IIDB Centre which condition you are claiming for (e.g., occupational dermatitis, occupational asthma, occupational deafness, repetitive strain injury.)

Timeframes

If you believe you have contracted a disease caused by your job, claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit straight away.

There are many different regulations and time limits for the different diseases and conditions covered. The Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit centre can advise you on this.

Long COVID/ Post-COVID Syndrome is not on the list of prescribed industrial diseases.

However, members who believe they have contracted Long COVID or Post-COVID Syndrome as a result of exposure in the workplace can make a claim for Injuries Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) as an industrial accident, using form BI100A and citing COVID-19 as the injury they sustained in work which was causative of Long COVID or Post-COVID syndrome.

How the RCN Welfare Service can help

The RCN Welfare Service has assisted a growing number of members to successfully claim IIDB on the grounds of Long Covid/ Post-Covid Syndrome.

It is necessary to provide as much evidence as possible to support a claim but, the fact that an employer doesn鈥檛 hold a record of an 鈥榠ndustrial accident鈥� does not mean that a claim cannot succeed, and we will assess the prospect of success based on a balance of probability that exposure to Covid-19 was at work, and nowhere else.

Incident reports for long COVID

With injury claims, you would usually need to have completed an incident report (Datix / RIDDOR) to evidence that you suffered an injury arising and out of during the course of your employment in order for the claim to be accepted.

However, the reality for many of our members is that they went off sick having contracted COVID-19 and no specific incident or injury was reported at that time. If you want advice about the merit of making a claim on these grounds contact the RCN Welfare Service for advice.

Benefits

You can get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit as well as:

• New-Style Employment and Support Allowance
• New-Style Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance, or
• State Pension.

However, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit can affect how much you or your partner get from other benefits, such as:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Support
• Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.

If you or your partner get IIDB, you won't be affected by the 'benefit cap' which limits the amount of benefit payments a household can get.