If an employee has an accident on the road, does the company have to pay medical expenses?

Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Labor Safety and Hygiene stipulates: In case an employee has an accident while traveling from home to work or from work to home by a reasonable route and time, if it is caused by someone else's fault or the person causing the accident cannot be identified, the employer shall provide benefits to the employee according to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 38 of the Law on Labor Safety and Hygiene.

Thus, in the case of an employee having an accident while commuting from home to work or from work to home, at a reasonable location and time (based on the accident settlement file of the police agency or the confirmation paper of the police where the accident occurred), the employee shall receive occupational accident benefits from the employer.

However, some companies wonder whether the labor management unit must pay medical expenses and salary during the treatment period for employees who have traffic accidents while traveling from home to work or from work to home, at a reasonable location and time?

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Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs responded as follows:

To have a basis for resolving the accident regime when traveling from home to work or from work to home, it is necessary to base on the minutes of investigation of the occupational accident. Based on the minutes of investigation of the above accident, in case it is determined that the employee has an accident when traveling from home to work or from work to home according to a reasonable route and time, if it is caused by someone else or the person causing the accident cannot be determined, the employer shall provide benefits to the employee according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene.

The Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene does not require employers to pay medical expenses and wages during treatment in the above accident case.

In some cases, labor management units and employees can apply Clause 1, Article 4 of the 2012 Labor Code, which provides for encouraging agreements that are more favorable to employees.