Until recently, a worker hurt on the job in the Maldives, or the family of a worker who died, had few options other than a civil claim in court. That has changed. The Workplace Safety and Health Act (Law No. 2/2024) gives workers a right to compensation from their employer, and the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation (2024/R-103), issued by the Labour Relations Authority, sets out how much. The regulation has been in force since 14 October 2024.
The amounts are calculated by formula, and they are large. Below is how the formulas work, with examples, and what else the regulation asks of employers.
Who pays, and for what
The employer pays the injured worker's medical costs and their wages while they are being treated, and has to arrange the claim process. A worker makes a claim to the employer within 12 months of the incident, under section 62 of the Act. A worker who has been compensated under the Act generally cannot also sue over the same injury.
Neither the Act nor the regulation requires employers to insure against these costs. Unless you have arranged cover, the money comes out of the business.
Permanent disability
For an injury that leaves a worker permanently disabled, the regulation adds a monthly disability amount to the worker's average monthly pay over the previous three months. The disability amount is MVR 2,500, 5,000, 7,500 or 10,000, depending on how far the injury affects the worker's ability to do the same job, or any job. That monthly figure is multiplied by the number of years left until the worker turns 65, and then by 12.
The result can range from MVR 1,260,000 to MVR 19,000,000, paid over at least ten years.
Take a 35-year-old technician earning MVR 10,000 a month who can no longer work at all. With the highest disability amount, the calculation is MVR 20,000 a month, times 30 years, times 12: MVR 7.2 million.
Death
When a worker dies from a work-related injury, the heirs receive the worker's average monthly pay multiplied by the years left until 65, times 12. On top of that the regulation adds MVR 500,000 where the employer was not negligent, or MVR 1,000,000 where it was. Health and safety inspectors decide whether there was negligence. The total ranges from MVR 1,460,000 to MVR 15,400,000, plus funeral costs, and can be paid as a lump sum or monthly.
For a 30-year-old earning MVR 8,000 a month, that comes to MVR 3.86 million, or MVR 4.36 million if the employer was negligent. Some news reports gave the amount for no negligence as MVR 50,000. The regulation says MVR 500,000.
Reporting within one hour
Deaths, serious injuries, chemical leaks and similar events have to be reported within one hour, to the Director General for Workplace Safety and Health or to the Labour Relations Authority, using the official form or portal. The Act also makes it an offence to fail to report accidents, dangerous occurrences and work-related diseases, with a fine of up to MVR 5,000.
In practice that means someone on every shift needs to know how to make the report, and the form or portal login has to be easy to find at two in the morning.
Safety officers and other duties
The regulation sets the number of health and safety officers by headcount:
- 75 to 150 employees: one officer
- 151 to 300 employees: two
- 301 to 500 employees: three
- 501 to 1,000 employees: four
- more than 1,000 employees: five
Officers must be permanent staff, with priority given to Maldivians, and need at least an MQA Level 3 qualification and two years' experience. Workplaces with more than 150 employees had one year from October 2024 to appoint them, and those with 75 to 150 employees had two years.
Employers also need a written health and safety policy, reviewed at least every three years, along with induction and training for staff and a health and safety management system. Breaches of the Act can be fined between MVR 1,000 and MVR 25,000, with up to MVR 5,000 more for each day a breach continues. An amendment in August 2026 placed the health and safety inspectors within the Labour Relations Authority.
Putting the numbers next to prevention
Set one fatal accident against what it costs to prevent one. A risk assessment, a trained safety officer, regular training and an emergency plan that has been tested cost a small fraction of a single compensation award. They also give you the records you will need if an inspector has to decide whether you were negligent.
A sensible order of work for most employers:
- Count your staff at each workplace and check whether you need a safety officer, and how many.
- Assess the risks at each site with the people who work there, and deal with the most serious first.
- Write or update the health and safety policy and the procedure for reporting a serious incident within the hour.
- Train supervisors and keep a record of who was trained, and when.
- Talk to an insurer about cover for compensation under the regulation.
We carry out workplace safety audits and risk assessments, help organisations set up an ISO 45001 management system, and train staff who coordinate safety at work through the OSH Coordinator course.
The official texts are in Dhivehi, and the figures here follow our reading of them. This article is general information, not legal advice.