An employee is a person who performs services under a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer. Further, under the NIS legislation an employee is anyone who:
For the purpose of Employment Injury Benefit, all workers (including those under 16 and those over Pensionable age) should be registered with the NIS.
The following are minor exceptions to these stipulations:
The National Insurance Board has the power to hand down decisions on questions concerning the following:
The decisions handed down by the Board on the above questions shall be final except on a point of law, in which case an appeal can be made to the High Court.
Contract of Service Versus Contract for Service
To determine the nature of any contractual relationship the following tests must be considered:
A contract of service exists if someone agrees that in consideration for wages or other remuneration he/she will provide the work and skill in the performance of service for another person. By so doing he/she agrees expressly or implicitly that in the performance of that service he/she will be subject to that person’s control.
In the circumstances outlined above these conditions normally exist if the person (employee):
It should, therefore, be noted that a person who enters into a contract for a fixed time or a specific task is still an employee once the above conditions exist.
In the case where the above conditions do not hold in the contractual arrangement, you may be considered as an independent contractor providing a service at a cost.
An independent contractor normally is not under the control of another person. He/she may or may not be personally responsible for the execution of the job and there is the possibility he/she may be able to realise a profit or loss.
Independent contractors are encouraged to register with the NIS as self-employed persons and make contributions on their own behalf.
An employer shall ensure that every employee is registered with the NIS within 7 days of commencing employment. The employee is required to complete an application for registration (Form R1) and submit with a copy of his/her birth certificate or passport and marriage certificate in the case of a married woman.
Upon registration, the employee will be issued a National Insurance card, which shows his/her name and NIS registration number.
Although employees already registered under the National Provident Fund (NPF) Act (No.1/1970) shall be treated as registered members under the National Insurance Act, employees are still required to complete the application for registration under the NIS. They will be given the same registration number that was assigned to them under the NPF Act.
Benefit | Time for Claiming |
---|---|
Sickness | Not later than 15 days of visiting the doctor |
Maternity | 6 weeks before the date of confinement or 4 weeks within the date of confinement |
Funeral Grant | Within 6 months of the death of the deceased insured person |
Invalidity | Within 3 months of being declared an invalid |
Age | Not later than 3 months after you have reached your retirement age |
Survivors’ | Not later than 3 months from the death of the deceased person |
Employment Injury | Not later than 15 days of the injury or job-related disease |
Year of Birth | Pensionable Age | Required Contributions |
---|---|---|
1955 and before | 60 | 500 |
1956-1957 | 61 | 550 |
1958-1959 | 62 | 600 |
1960-1961 | 63 | 650 |
1962-1963 | 64 | 700 |
1964 and after | 65 | 750 |