Workers' (Occupational Diseases) Relief Fund Act 1954

Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-four, but subject to this section, where the death of an employee occurs while he is in receipt of a weekly payment under this Act in respect of incapacity due to disease, but is not caused by the disease, the dependants of the employee are, unless the Secretary otherwise determines, entitled to compensation as provided by that section; but where, by virtue of a determination made by the Secretary under section twenty-three, the total compensation payable to the employee is a proportion only of the total compensation that could have been paid to him under this Act if by reason of his suffering from a disease referred to in that section he was incapacitated from continuing to work as an employee, the appropriate multiplier referred to in subsection (2) of section twenty-four shall, for the purpose of determining the amount of compensation payable to his dependants under this section, be reduced in the like proportion.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, where it is established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that, at the time of the death of an employee to whom that subsection relates, the extent of the incapacity of that employee arising from the disease in respect of which he was in receipt of a weekly payment under this Act had increased since the time when that weekly payment commenced, the dependants of that employee shall be paid such further compensation as they might lawfully have been paid pursuant to that subsection if at the time when the weekly payment to the employee commenced he had been incapacitated to the extent to which he was incapacitated at the time of his death.

Where an eligible employee who has not received any compensation under this Act dies and it is found that at the time of his death he was suffering from disease (whether the disease was a contributory cause of his death or not) the Secretary may, in its absolute discretion, pay to the dependants of that employee compensation at such rate, not exceeding a percentage of the compensation payable on death equal to the percentage of compensation that would have been payable to the employee under section twenty-three, if he had qualified for the payment of compensation under that section, as the Secretary may determine.