The construction desk/The registers

Compensation Fund: letter of good standing

The Compensation Fund's confirmation that an employer is registered and its assessments are paid, so an injury on site is the Fund's claim and not the client's.

What the register is for

Every employer must register with the Compensation Fund, submit a Return of Earnings each year and pay the assessment. The letter of good standing is the Fund's statement that this has been done, and it carries a validity date. A contractor without a valid letter puts its client at risk: a worker injured on the site has no claim against the Fund and looks to whoever engaged the contractor. Main contractors and mines will not let a subcontractor on site without one.

Who must be on it

Every employer, and every client before anyone climbs a ladder on its property.

Where it comes from

Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993, section 80.

How to check

free, at the register itselfLook up at cfonline.labour.gov.za

The employer downloads its own letter; a client reads the validity date on it and asks for a new one when it passes. A letter valid on the day of award is not enough on a six-month job.

What a listing does not prove

Anything about the contractor's safety practice. The letter says the premiums are paid.

Read the detail

the pieces that go deeper

The panel

A contractor on the panel is checked on Compensation Fund: letter of good standing before it quotes, and the check is repeated when the registration falls due. You see one quote from one company, with this already done.