& info. Newsletter. FEM Events. Merit Rebates & Loadings. FEM Education Foundation. Proposed COIDA Amendments. To Remember

Transcription

1 THE FEDERATED EMPLOYERS MUTUAL ASSURANCE COMPANY (RF) (PTY) LTD Est Newsletter & info NOVEMBER 2018 FEM Events pg 2 FEM Health & Safety Awards Safetember 3 Merit Rebates & Loadings pg 4 FEM Education Foundation pg 4 Proposed COIDA Amendments pg 5 To Remember pg 6 1

2 FEM Events FEM Health & Safety Awards 2018 The FEM Annual Health & Safety Awards, held at Summerplace, Hyde Park was once again a resounding success. The 150 guests in attendance included the awardees, industry leaders, Department of Labour, various industry bodies as well as FEM staff. A total of 34 Certificates were awarded in the various annual categories, with 4 Special 10 year award winners. The highlight of the awards was the Platinum Award - awarded to the company with the best health and safety record over the 10 year period, The recipient of this coveted award was Amanzi Abantu with the Gold award going to Shula Construction CC, Silver award to Robert Skinner Construction and the Bronze award going to Cladcon CC. A keynote address from political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi, who writes a weekly column for Business Day and is no stranger to the media, kept the audience engaged with his outlook for South Africa and particularly the construction sector. His keen sense of humour ensured an entertained audience. FEM wishes to say thank you to all of the awardees for their contribution to a safer working environment for all workers. 2 Return to Main Menu

3 Safetember Safetember is a campaign initiated by FEM to raise awareness of accidents in the workplace and to promote health and safety. The focus this year was on motor vehicle accidents, or MVAs, which contribute up to 50% of the total fatalities as per the statistics provided by FEM. FEM uses its relationship with organisations like Saiosh (South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), MBSA (Master Builders South Africa) and SAFCEC (South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors) to drive this Health and safety message to the industry and beyond. Our Cape Town branch was the first to host an event on the 3rd of September, followed by Durban on the 5th of September and Johannesburg on the 7th of September. The final leg took place in Port Elizabeth on the18th of September. The workshops took the format of a half-day conference and brought hundreds of people together, over four days to ignite conversations around MVAs within construction. The event showcased industry experts who highlighted not only the current state of MVAs in the construction industry, but also focused on possible solutions for a safer industry. The events included a presentation on Safety on our Roads by Dave Marais, who has extensive insight into the demands of transport operations owing to his experience in law enforcement and the transport industry, respectively. He is an accident reconstructionist, an examiner of vehicles and drivers licences and served as a Principal Provincial Officer in local Government, led 50 investigations against transport organisations under the guidance of the MEC and was the cross distributions national training and the Reinhardt s Group s loss control manager. As has been the case with previous campaigns, this year s campaign strives to deliver the message that accidents are indeed preventable. FEM has a proud history of giving back to the industry and this is just one more way we are taking responsibility to make the industry safer. The QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) was represented by Norman Wright and Ari Seirlis, who both gave a passionate talk about the repercussions of an accident. They talked about their personal experiences and emphasized the importance of wearing a seatbelt. They drew attention to the personal challenges they experience due to their disabilities. They also drew attention to their slogan - Buckle Up! We don t want new members. Return to Main Menu 3

4 Merit Rebates and Loadings FEM has a merit rebate system that rewards policyholders for good health and safety. If the accident experience of an employer during the measured period is favourable, FEM may give the employer a merit rebate on any assessment paid by the employer for that period. Merit rebates are paid each year at the discretion of FEM s board in accordance with FEM s articles of association and are not guaranteed. The ratio of claims costs for the period in question to premiums paid for the same period will determine the loss ratio. A favourable loss ratio could result in a merit rebate (subject to conditions) and an unfavourable loss ratio could result in a loading (increase) of the standard rate. A favourable loss ratio is currently between 0% and 62%. To qualify for a 50% merit rebate the loss ratio must be between 0% and 10%. The merit rebate scales down to 0%, for loss ratios between 10% and 62%. Between 63% and 64% loss ratio, there is no effect on merit rebates or loadings. From 65% and up the loadings are applied on a sliding scale. The merit rebate and loading scales are reviewed annually and are subject to change at FEM s discretion. The calculation for merit rebates and loadings are applied 2 years retrospectively. Loadings will only apply for a period of 1 year. In order to qualify for a merit rebate, employers must be in good standing by 30 June. FEM has paid rebates in 2018 to the value of R 290 mil. FEM Education Foundation The FEM Education Foundation is a not for profit organisation that was established on 19 October 2016 as a landmark corporate and social investment initiative during a General Meeting of FEM Shareholders. To this end, a R750 Million payment was made into the foundation by FEM. The objective of the Foundation is to make a real and significant impact in improving education in South Africa. This is achieved through partnering with a few carefully selected NGOs that operate in the education space. To date, four partners have been selected, namely; Make a Difference Leadership Foundation which is a scholarship program for talented disadvantaged young people - Columba which provides a values-based leadership development program for youth in schools, in disadvantaged areas - Partners for Possibilities which is a leadership development program for school principals ; and Funda Wande which is a program that aims to improve teaching of reading at the foundation phase of education The Foundation intends to make a meaningful contribution towards the upliftment of education for all South Africans. 4 Return to Main Menu

5 Proposed COIDA Amendments Proposed new Rates Assessment Model A new assessment model has been approved by Cabinet for public comment. This has been published by the Minister of Labour in a government gazette for comments. The public comment period closed on the 18th of November The model recommends that Employers be grouped into 6 classes rather than 102. Premium changes are to be phased in over a 3 year period, through use of discounts and loadings. The 6 new industry classes are based on the Standard Industry Classification Codes ( SIC ) as used by the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission ( CIPC ). Each of the current sub-classes is mapped to one of the 50 categories under the CIPC system, which in turn maps to one of the 6 SIC industry classes. The proposed changes will be as follows - New Rating class Description Proposed Assessment Rate 1 Agriculture, Mining, Construction Manufacturing, Transport, Communication Utilities, Trade, Repair of goods, Hospitality Financial & Community Service Security Services Workers employed by households 0.89 Transferring from Mutuals to the CF Please be advised that with effect from 1 January 2018, the Minister of Labour has amended the licence conditions of Mutual Associations, under Section 30(1) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, In terms of the amendments, employers who are registered with The Federated Employers Mutual Assurance Company (RF) (Pty) Ltd, may no longer transfer back to the Compensation Fund as it was previously the case. The above clause applies to all employers currently registered and who may become registered with Mutual Associations. The amendment is aimed at barring employers from transferring back to the Compensation Fund, in an attempt to avoid payment of any amount due to the Mutual Association. Please direct all telephonic queries to FEM at or info@fema.co.za. Return to Main Menu 5

6 To Remember New Address for claims documentation FEM has consolidated all incoming channels for claims documentation. Documentation should be sent to Please refrain from sending s to individuals as these s might not be attended to timeously, resulting in delays in claim management and payments. New Letter of Good Standing and on-line verification FEM has launched a new look Letter of Good Standing with the inclusion of the logos from The Compensation Fund as well as the Department of Labour, with their respective permission. The new letters have a unique verification code that can be used to verify letters on-line at We urge employers to verify letters to ensure compliance. Website Registration FEM has an on-line facility where policyholders can edit their policy details, check their accident statistics, check on all claims registered and payments made, download monthly statements and complete their wage returns. We encourage all policyholders to register on-line via the following link If you have not registered, click on the Register tab Click on Policy if you are a policyholder, and follow prompts to register. Should the above link not work, please copy the following text into your URL - fem.co.za. You can contact our IT department on , should you experience any problems or if you require assistance to register. After Hours contact number For any incidents that happen outside of normal working hours, please contact This is a 24hr line, and one of our trained staff members will be available to assist. 6 Return to Main Menu

7 New Registration with FEM We would like to inform all policyholders that any new policy can register with FEM from inception. The terms of our previous license have been amended to accommodate this. There is no longer a need to register with the Compensation Fund for 12 months before transferring over to FEM. In order to register a new policy with FEM, you will need to supply the following information - 1. Completed FEM application forms. 2. Company registration documents (Certificate of Confirmation / CK1 or Cor14.3). 3. Copy of the director s / owner s ID documents. 4. Letter from bank (not older than 3 months) confirming banking details. 5. Confirmation of nature of business, inception date of operations(as per current under writing year) on a company letterhead. 6. Completed Record of Information. FEM will still require proof that the company was not previously registered for Workmen s Compensation, from the fund, prior to registration. Important Contacts Head Office Johannesburg Cape town Durban After hours claims contact Claims documentation Claims enquiries Complaints IT support Marketing Underwriting Website Policyholder online portal FEMregistry@fema.co.za Enquiries@fema.co.za FEMcomplaints@fema.co.za Support@fema.co.za Marketing@fema.co.za Backoffice@fema.co.za Return to Main Menu 7

8 Office Closure FEM s office will be closed between 21 December 2018 and 2 January For emergencies, the after hours contact details have been included in the contact details above. Seasons Greetings FEM staff and management would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the festive season and a prosperous