Getting the Right Payments Back on Track
When Sam was injured at work, they relied on weekly payments to help cover living costs while they recovered. These payments are meant to be paid regularly and on time. However, from January, something went wrong.
The payments that should have gone to Sam were accidentally sent to their employer instead. This meant Sam missed out on money they needed.
The insurer realised there was a problem and tried twice in March to get the money back from the employer so it could be passed on to Sam. But even after these attempts, the issue still wasn’t fixed. Sam was still waiting.
That’s when Sam came to the Independent Review Office (IRO) for support.
The IRO looked into what had happened. We considered the law, which says that compensation must be passed on to an injured person as soon as possible. In this case, the employer had not done that. This meant they were not meeting their legal obligations.
To fix the situation, the IRO made a recommendation to the insurer. We suggested that the insurer should not wait any longer. Instead, they should pay Sam the outstanding weekly payments straight away. The insurer could then deal separately with the employer to recover the money that had been sent in error.
The insurer accepted the IRO’s recommendation. This meant Sam could finally receive the payments they were owed without further delay
How the IRO provided support
This story shows the types of services the IRO provides in the workers compensation system, including:
The IRO focuses on ensuring injured workers receive the payments and support they are entitled to, without unnecessary delay.
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