Workplace Accident in Nepal: Death, Injury, Compensation

When a worker dies at a construction site or a hydropower project, or comes home with a serious injury, the family has two jobs at once: grieving and paperwork. This page is about the second one. It sets out the order in which offices in Nepal are usually approached after a workplace accident, and the papers commonly asked for at each stop, whether the family is chasing compensation, a death benefit, or both.

This is general information, not legal advice. For a specific case, speak to a lawyer or to the labour office with jurisdiction over the district. Last reviewed: September 2026.

The first few days after a workplace accident

Start with the record. Almost every later step depends on there being a written account of what happened, so get one made early.

Report the incident at the police office for the area where it happened, even if the contractor says the company will handle everything. Note the report number and ask how to collect a copy later. If the site keeps an accident register or an incident report, ask the site office or contractor for a copy of that too.

Collect the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it and is willing to be a witness. Workers move on quickly when a project winds down, and witnesses are the hardest thing to find six months later.

Keep every document you already have: wage slips, the worker's citizenship copy, gate pass or ID card, medical papers, any letter from the employer. Put them all in one folder. You will be asked for the same things at several counters.

Be careful about signing a final settlement or release, especially in the first weeks. Ask for a copy, ask what it means, and take your time before signing. A signed release can later be argued as the end of the employer's liability, which is exactly why it deserves a slow reading. If you cannot read it comfortably, have someone you trust read it with you.

Which office first: the usual order

Families usually move through these in roughly this order. It is not a rule, and some steps run side by side.

1. The police office. This is where the incident is recorded. That report becomes the base document later offices ask for, so keep the number safe.

2. The ward office. Register the death locally and start the heir certificate (namsari) route. Ask at the ward counter first, because district practice differs on whether the ward office, the district administration office, or both handle it.

3. The district Labour Office (श्रम कार्यालय) with jurisdiction over the district where the incident happened, working alongside the District Administration Office. This is where the labour side of a compensation claim sits. Above it, in Kathmandu, is the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety (श्रम तथा व्यावसायिक सुरक्षा विभाग), under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. The framework is the Labour Act 2074 (2017), as amended, and the rules made under it. District door signs usually read श्रम कार्यालय, so that is the name to ask for.

4. The Social Security Fund (सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष), if the worker was covered. The Fund runs its own published claim process, and its counter will tell you what it needs. Death benefit and medical expense claims sit here.

5. The Labour Court (श्रम अदालत), Kathmandu, and then the civil courts. Nepal's dedicated Labour Court sits in Kathmandu, so cases from outside the valley can be routed differently. Confirm at your district labour office or with a lawyer whether your case is heard there or whether a bench covers your area. Where the labour route is unavailable or does not go far enough, a claim can also be brought against the employer or contractor under the general civil and criminal law. This is where a lawyer becomes necessary rather than optional.

6. Legal aid. If cost is the barrier, state legal aid exists through the court. Ask at the court counter how to apply.

How long you have: time limits and late fees

Two clocks matter here, and both are better confirmed in person than taken from any page, including this one.

The first is the limitation period for a labour claim. Claims do not stay open forever, and the count usually runs from the date of the incident or of the death. Ask the labour officer handling your district for the current period in writing, and ask the same question at the court if the labour route is closed to you. If you are anywhere near a deadline, treat it as urgent.

The second is death registration. A death should be registered with the local registrar within a set window, and registering late normally costs a higher fee and takes more paperwork. The ward office can tell you the current window and fee. Late registration is not the same as being refused, but it is avoidable.

Write down the date of every visit and every phone call. If a deadline is disputed later, your own dates are evidence.

Death benefit or compensation? Two paths, and a fork inside each

The first fork is whether the worker was covered by the Social Security Fund. If they were, the Fund route is the main one for a death benefit and for medical costs, and the labour office is still relevant. If they were not, say a contractor-only arrangement or informal daily-wage work with no contributions, the claim for compensation runs mainly through the labour office and, if needed, the courts, against the employer or the contractor who hired them. That path leans heavily on evidence that the person actually worked there: wage records, muster rolls, gate passes, a supervisor's name, witness statements. Families who kept nothing often struggle here, which is why that folder matters.

One more thing worth asking about early: coverage under the Labour Act hinges on the size of the establishment. The Act is widely described as applying to workplaces with ten or more workers, with smaller workplaces treated differently, so a ten-person contractor crew and a large hydropower site may not be in the same position. Do not assume either way. Ask the labour office whether the Act covers your case at all, because that answer decides which route you are on.

The second fork is death against serious injury. An injury adds a medical track: treatment records, hospital papers, and disability certification from the designated authority if there is lasting impairment, since lost earning capacity is what a compensation figure gets built on. A death adds the heir and dependent track: the heir certificate, and documents showing who depended on the worker's income.

No page can promise what a claim will produce. What a family controls is the paperwork, and the order it is filed in.

Documents commonly asked for after a workplace accident or death

Requirements differ by office, district and fund. Always confirm at the counter before you travel or pay for copies.

• Death certificate from the local registrar
• Heir certificate (namsari)
• Citizenship copies of the claimant and of the deceased or injured worker
• Marriage certificate
• Birth certificates of children
• Police report from the office where the incident was reported
• Post-mortem report, where there was a death
• Employer or contractor identity, and any site insurance details
• Employment or wage records
• Bank account details for the claimant
• For injuries, medical reports and disability certification from the designated authority

This is a commonly asked for list, not a statutory one. Offices add and drop items, and a missing paper is usually a delay rather than a dead end.

Where this page stops

This page covers the office and document sequence, and deliberately stops there. The Social Security Fund's own claim steps, the terms of any insurance policy tied to the site (ask the insurer named on the policy), the heir certificate procedure itself, and how legal aid is applied for are all run by the offices that handle them, each with its own counter and its own forms.

Some details genuinely vary, and we could not confirm a single answer for every district. Which office issues the heir certificate where you live, whether the labour office or the district administration office takes your first application, and what the Fund asks for can all differ. Where that is the case, ask at the office, and get the answer in writing if you can.