Workmen’S Compensation Act · 1984 Revised Edition · Part II · Workman'S Compensation for Injury
Section 12
In plain English
Not legal advice
Notice must reach the employer within 7 days of the accident, and a claim must follow within 6 months of the accident or death. A fatal accident needs no notice. Mistake or other reasonable cause can excuse a late claim or faulty notice. Notice may be written or oral, giving the cause of the injury and the accident date.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Except as provided in this section proceedings for the recovery of compensation for an in jury shall not be maintainable unless notice of the accident in respect of which such compensation is claimed has been given to the employer within 7 days after the happening thereof and unless a claim for compensation with respect to such acci-dent has been made within 6 months from the happening of the accident causing the injury, or, in the case of death, within 6 months from the date of death.
No notice to the employer shall be necessary where a fatal accident has occurred.
employer
"employer" includes - (a) the Government; (b) any statutory body or authority; (c) any person or body of person whether in-corporate or not; (d) the legal personal representative of a de-ceased employer; and (e) in relation to a person employed for the pur-pose of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager or members of the managing committee of such club; and where the services of a workman are tempor-arily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the workman has entered into a contract of employment, the latter shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to continue to be the employer of the workman whilst he is working for that other person;
The want of or any defect or inaccuracy in such notice shall not be a bar to the maintenance of such pro-ceedings if the employer is proved to have had knowledge of the accident from any other source at or about the time of
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Workmen's Compensation the accident, or if it is found in the proceedings for settling the claim that the employer is not, or would not be, if a notice or amended notice were then given and the hearing postponed, prejudiced in his defence by such want, defect or inaccuracy, or that such want, defect or inaccuracy was occasioned by mistake, absence from Brunei or other reasonable cause.
The failure to make a claim within the period above specified shall not be a bar to the maintenance of such proceedings if it is found that the failure was occasioned by mistake, absence from Brunei or other reasonable cause.
Notice to the employer, or if there is more than one employer, to one of such employers, in respect of an injury may be given either in writing or orally or to the foreman or other person under whose supervision the work-man was employed, or to any person designated for the purpose by the employer, and shall state in qrdinary lan-guage the cause of the injury and the date at which the accident happened.
( 6) The notice if in writing may be given by deliver-ing the same at, or sending it by registered post addressed to, the residence or place of business of the person to whom it is to be given.
Where the employer is a body of persons, corpo-rate or unincorporate, the notice, if in writing, may be given by delivering it or by sending it by registered post addressed to the employer, at the office, or, if there be more than one office, any one of the offices, of such body.
The notice hereby required may be given by the
Commissioner on behalf of any workman, and a notice so given shall have the same effect as if given by the workman himself.
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Notice to
Commission-erbycm-
ployer
Powers of
Commission-er on receipt of notice
Workmen's Compensation
Terms defined in s 3
employer
Defined · s 3"employer" includes - (a) the Government; (b) any statutory body or authority; (c) any person or body of person whether in-corporate or not; (d) the legal personal representative of a de-ceased employer; and (e) in relation to a person employed for the pur-pose of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager or members of the managing committee of such club; and where the services of a workman are tempor-arily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the workman has entered into a contract of employment, the latter shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to continue to be the employer of the workman whilst he is working for that other person;