The Answer in 60 Seconds

Under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019, an employer in Singapore must notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of a work accident within 10 days of the accident. The notification runs in parallel with - not in place of - notification to the Work Injury Compensation insurer, and is separate from the WSHA 2006 dangerous occurrence reporting regime administered by MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Division. The 10-day clock is strict; failure to notify is itself an offence under WICA section 25, independent of any subsequent compensation claim. The compensation schedule applicable to accidents on or after 1 November 2025 is: medical expenses up to S$53,000, total permanent incapacity from S$116,000 to S$346,000, death benefit from S$91,000 to S$269,000 - per the MOM higher-compensation-limits announcement of 8 February 2024. This article sets out the step-by-step notification process, the documents required, the relationship to the WIC insurer and to MOM's WSH enforcement, and the records the employer must keep for at least five years.

The Sourced Detail

A work accident in a Singapore SME triggers four parallel obligations: notification to MOM under WICA, notification to the WIC insurer under the policy, dangerous-occurrence reporting under WSHA if the threshold is met, and (potentially) public-disclosure obligations under any sector-specific licence. The notifications operate independently; missing any one of them does not extinguish the others.

The first 10 days after the accident are the operational window in which the most important documentation decisions are made.

What "work accident" means under WICA

The Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 covers personal injury (and death) caused to an employee by accident arising out of and in the course of employment, plus prescribed occupational diseases. The WICA scheme operates as a no-fault compensation system - the employee does not need to prove employer negligence - subject to the statutory schedule.

The coverage perimeter under section 24 of WICA requires WIC insurance for:

  • All employees doing manual work, regardless of salary.
  • Non-manual employees earning at or below S$2,600 per month (in force since 1 April 2021 per the MOM WICA hub).

Section 25 makes failure to maintain WIC insurance an offence.

The 10-day notification rule

The notification window is 10 days from the date of the accident. The notification is made to MOM via the iReport system, which has replaced the historical paper-based Form 1A submission for most cases.

The information required at notification typically includes:

  • Date, time, and location of the accident.
  • The injured employee's particulars (name, NRIC/FIN, date of birth, occupation, nature of work, monthly earnings).
  • The nature of the injury and its severity (medical leave days expected, hospitalisation if any).
  • The circumstances of the accident, contemporaneous to the employer's understanding at the time of notification.
  • The employer's particulars and contact details.
  • The WIC insurer's particulars and policy number.

Where the accident is fatal, or where serious injury triggers the WSHA dangerous-occurrence regime, additional reporting routes engage in parallel.

Parallel notification to the WIC insurer

The employer's policy with the WIC insurer typically requires notification of the accident within a fixed period (commonly "as soon as practicable" or within a stated number of days). The policy notification is separate from the MOM notification:

  • The insurer needs the policy reference, the date and circumstances, and the employee's particulars.
  • The insurer will appoint a claims handler who liaises with MOM, the employee, and (if needed) the assessing doctor.
  • The insurer's response to the claim turns on the policy schedule (premium, declared payroll, occupational class) and the proof of premium payment - see the document trail that saved (and sank) a claim.

The insurer cannot stand in for the MOM notification - the WICA notification is a regulatory obligation on the employer, not on the insurer.

Parallel notification under WSHA dangerous-occurrence reporting

The Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 has its own incident-reporting regime, separate from WICA. The WSH (Incident Reporting) Regulations under WSHA require employers to report:

  • Workplace accidents resulting in death (immediately) or in more than three days of medical leave or hospitalisation (within 10 days).
  • Dangerous occurrences as defined in the Regulations (collapse of structures, fires, certain types of equipment failure), within 10 days.
  • Occupational diseases specified in the Third Schedule, within 10 days.

WSHA reporting goes to MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHD); WICA notification goes to MOM under the WICA scheme. The same MOM iReport system is the entry point.

The four-step notification process

A structured notification process - documented in the seven-folder document structure under the 04_People folder - has four steps.

Step 1: Immediate response (Day 0).

  • Ensure the injured employee receives medical attention.
  • Secure the scene to the extent reasonable, preserve evidence (photographs, witness contact details).
  • Notify the company's designated incident-response owner internally.

Step 2: Information assembly (Day 1-3).

  • Gather the employee's particulars, employment contract, and 12-month wage records.
  • Collect the contemporaneous accident narrative from the employee, witnesses, and any supervisor.
  • Obtain the initial medical report from the treating doctor or hospital.

Step 3: Notification submission (within Day 10).

  • Submit the WICA notification via iReport.
  • Notify the WIC insurer in writing, providing the same information set.
  • If WSHA dangerous-occurrence reporting is also triggered, submit that report through the same iReport entry point.

Step 4: Post-notification documentation (Day 10 onward).

  • Maintain the accident file in 04_People, with all subsequent correspondence (insurer, MOM, medical, employee, witnesses).
  • Track the Commissioner's assessment process to its conclusion.
  • Retain the file for at least five years from the date of the accident, per WICA accident-record-keeping practice.

Records the employer must keep

The records retention list for any WICA accident:

  • The notification submission (iReport submission reference).
  • The accident report and supporting narrative.
  • The employee's employment contract and 12-month wage records.
  • All medical reports (treating, assessing).
  • Witness statements.
  • Photographs of the scene and any visible injury.
  • Correspondence with the WIC insurer (notification, claims handling, settlement).
  • The Commissioner's Notice of Assessment (when issued).
  • Any subsequent Common Law correspondence or proceedings.

Retention: at least five years from the date of the accident. The IRAS record-keeping requirements impose a five-year retention on related financial records.

When the employee's claim goes beyond the WICA schedule

The WICA scheme caps compensation at the schedule limits (medical S$53,000, total permanent incapacity S$116,000-S$346,000, death S$91,000-S$269,000 for accidents on or after 1 November 2025). The injured employee retains the option to bring a Common Law claim for negligence against the employer, in which damages are not capped by the WICA schedule.

The Common Law route is constrained by election: the employee cannot recover both under WICA and at Common Law for the same loss; the WICA Act provisions on election and double-recovery apply.

The standard WIC insurance policy responds to the WICA schedule. Cover for the Common Law exposure - Employer's Liability cover - is a separate cover or extension. The cover question is addressed in price vs value of corporate insurance.

Common errors that cause WICA notification problems

Three recurring problems delay or derail WICA notifications.

Delayed internal escalation. The accident is known to the supervisor on Day 0 but does not reach the designated WICA notification owner until Day 8. The 10-day window is now Day 2.

Incomplete employee particulars. The employment contract is verbal, the NRIC is on a photocopy in a former HR staff member's drawer, the wage records are partial. Reconstruction takes longer than the 10-day window.

Confusion between WICA and WSHA reporting paths. The SME files only WSHA, assuming WICA is the insurer's responsibility, or vice versa. Both notifications are required.

The role of the WIC insurer

Under WICA section 28, the insurer is obliged to make the schedule payment to the injured employee (or dependants) even if the employer is bankrupt or has otherwise defaulted on premium - subject to the policy being in force on the date of accident. The insurer's right of recovery is then against the employer or its estate. This is the structural reason the GIA Premium Payment Framework 60-day warranty matters: a policy lapsed for non-payment on Day 60 is treated as not in force, and the insurer's section 28 obligation does not arise.

Common Mistakes / What Goes Wrong

  1. Verbal employment arrangements. WICA assessment is delayed on adverse-inference terms.

  2. Wage records incomplete or annual-only. Average monthly earnings calculation defaults to whatever can be evidenced.

  3. Internal escalation that takes more than 3 days. The 10-day window closes faster than most expect.

  4. WSHA vs WICA confusion. Both are required where the thresholds are met.

  5. Notification to the insurer only, not to MOM. The MOM notification is the regulatory obligation.

  6. Notification via WhatsApp or email to MOM. iReport is the system; informal channels do not satisfy.

  7. No accident report on Day 1. Witness recollections degrade; contemporaneous documentation is more credible.

  8. The injured employee is asked to file the accident report. The employer's obligation; the employee's input is part of the record but not the report.

  9. Policy in lapse at the date of accident. The 60-day premium-payment warranty matters here.

  10. No retention of the accident file beyond settlement. Future Common Law claims may emerge years later within the limitation period.

What This Means for Your Business

  1. Designate a WICA notification owner with a documented backup.

  2. Maintain employment contracts and rolling wage records in the 04_People folder.

  3. Establish a Day-0 incident response protocol that triggers immediate internal escalation.

  4. Use iReport, not email for both WICA and WSHA notifications.

  5. Notify both MOM and the WIC insurer in parallel, within 10 days.

  6. Maintain the accident file for at least 5 years from the date of accident.

  7. Confirm premium-payment status with the WIC insurer at every renewal - the 60-day warranty is the gate.

  8. For Common Law exposure, consider Employer's Liability cover or an EL extension to the WICA policy.

Questions to Ask Your Adviser

  1. For our current WIC policy, what is the notification window and the prescribed format?
  2. Does our cover include Common Law / Employer's Liability extension, and what is the limit?
  3. If we have a serious accident, what is your support model in the first 48 hours?
  4. For our headcount and occupational classes, is our declared payroll on the policy accurate?
  5. What is your protocol for reviewing the WICA accident file at policy renewal?

Related Information

Published 22 May 2026. Source verified 22 May 2026. COVA is an introducer under MAS Notice FAA-N02. We do not recommend insurance products. We provide factual information sourced from primary regulators and route you to a licensed IFA who can match a policy to your specific situation.