The History of the Workers' Compensation Act
- from the first industrial injuries Act in 1898 up to today
1898 - the first industrial injuries Act
On 7th January 1898, the first Industrial Injuries Insurance Act in Denmark received the Royal Assent of King Christian the Ninth. On 1st April the same year, the new "Workmen's Compensation Board", which later became the National Board of Industrial Injuries, convened for the first time to start the preparations for the coming into force of the Act on 15th January 1899.
The Act laid down employers' extended responsibility for accidents sustained by workers during the performance of their work. It was voluntary for employers to take out insurance. Only certain employers with particularly dangerous activities and certain workers, in particular factory workers, were covered by the Act.
Over the years, the scope of the Act was extended to other occupational groups. In 1900 fishermen were included. But insurance was voluntary. In 1905 seafarers were included, and for them insurance became statutory. In 1908 agriculture joined. Also agricultural employers were under an obligation to take out insurance.
1973 - industrial injuries were included under the Daily Cash Benefit Act
1973 saw the appearance of the Daily Cash Benefit (Sickness or Maternity) Act, which combined all types of daily cash benefits, regardless of cause. Thus the entitlement to daily cash benefits due to incapacity for work, accidents or occupational diseases was moved from the Industrial Injuries Insurance Act to the Daily Cash Benefit Act.
1976 - more occupational diseases appeared
In connection with the arrival of an increasing number of new chemical substances in the workplaces, people were given the impression that the number of occupational diseases was growing. Therefore the Industrial Injuries Insurance Act was amended in 1976. The list of occupational diseases was incorporated in an Administrative Order, thus facilitating changes to the list, and certain cases of occupational diseases were submitted, along with suggested changes to the list, to the Occupational Diseases Committee.
1978 - compensation for invalidity was replaced with compensation for permanent injury
1978 saw the fourth principal Act - the Industrial Injuries Act. The most significant change was that compensation for invalidity disappeared and was replaced with compensation for permanent injury and compensation for loss of earning capacity.
1993 - new time limits for case processing and calculation of compensation
1993 saw the fifth principal Act - the Act on Insurance Against the Consequences of Industrial Injuries. This Act laid down time limits for case processing by the National Board of Industrial Injuries; employers' appeal options were specified, and new provisions regarding capitalisation of monthly benefits were introduced. The calculation of compensation for permanent injury was simplified, and the provisions of the Public Administration Act on hearing the parties to a case were to be used instead of the provisions of the previous Industrial Injuries Act.
1996 - a sudden lifting injury was recognised as an industrial injury
On 1st July 1996, a new industrial injuries concept, sudden lifting injury, was introduced. 1st January 1997 saw the introduction of insurance units within the various ministerial areas, such units being in principle equivalent to the private-sector insurance companies, and on 1st January 1999 the Labour Market Occupational Diseases Fund (AES) was established. This fund is an independent institution that collects contributions from employers for the purposes of financing costs deriving from sudden lifting injuries and occupational diseases. The National Board of Industrial Injuries still decides these cases. With regard to accidents and short-term injurious effects, payments are still made, after the National Board of Industrial Injuries has made a decision, by the insurance company where the employer has taken out insurance.
2003 - workers' compensation reform - more industrial injuries qualify for recognition
In 2003 the Danish Folketing passed a reform in the field of workers' compensation, which meant that more accidents and occupational diseases were recognised as industrial injuries. The Act took effect in two parts, in 2004 for accidents and in 2005 for diseases.
A substantial element of the reform was a new accident concept which was introduced for the purposes of recognising more accidents as industrial injuries. Previously there was a requirement that there had to be an “external, sudden impact” on the body. This meant that a number of accidents at work were turned down because the exposure was seen as something that was usual or to be expected.
Therefore the recognition requirements for accidents were changed to “a personal injury which is caused by an incident or exposure occurring suddenly or within 5 days”. The new definition had the effect that more injuries were recognised as accidents at work.
From 2005 the requirements for recognition of an occupational disease also became less strict. This was because fewer requirements were made to the medical evidence of a correlation between an exposure in the workplace and a disease. This change meant that it became possible to recognise a number of new diseases as industrial injuries. At the same time Denmark became one of the few countries in the world to include a mental disorder on the list of occupational diseases. This happened when post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was added to the list. The list is being adjusted on a regular basis so that it reflects the most recent research into the correlation between diseases and work. This is the task of the Occupational Diseases Committee.
Written from 1998 to 1999 by Mr. Viggo Bertram, legal consultant of the National Board of Industrial Injuries, who is also author of the book “Arbejdsskadeforsikring gennem 100 år”.
This page was last modified on 12. august 2008