The acronym CAT stands for Communication of Accident at Work and is defined as a document issued with the purpose of recognizing an accident at work, or a commuting accident, as well as an occupational disease, addressed to the National Institute of Social Security – INSS, for possible granting of social security benefits to the Employee affected by an accident or occupational disease.
According to article 169 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho – CLT), issuing the CAT is mandatory:
Art. 169 – Notification of occupational diseases and those caused by special working conditions, whether proven or suspected, shall be compulsory, in accordance with the instructions issued by the Ministry of Labor. (Edited by Law no. 6.514, of 22.12.1977)
In the same vein, article 22, “caput”, of Law No. 8.213/1991 stipulates that it is mandatory to notify Social Security of any accident or illness arising from work, setting a deadline and a fine for non-compliance:
Art. 22: The company or the domestic employer must report the accident at work to Social Security by the first working day following the occurrence and, in the event of death, immediately to the competent authority, under penalty of a fine varying between the minimum limit and the maximum limit of the contribution salary, successively increased in repeat offenses, applied and collected by Social Security. (Edited by Complementary Law no. 150 of 2015)
Thus, the employer must comply with the deadline stipulated by law, of up to one (1) working day after the event, in the case of an accident (typical or commuting), or the same deadline, after the discovery of the disease or the Employee’s incapacity to work[1], whichever occurs first. In the event of the employee’s death, the CAT must be issued immediately.
It is important to clarify that the issuance of the CAT – Communication of Accident at Work is a SAFETY for the employer and must be complied with as a rule even in cases where the Employee is not absent or, if so, the absence does not exceed 15 (fifteen) days.
However, in a rare and exceptional way, some Regional Labor Courts do not see it this way and, in their rulings, advise that the CAT should only be issued when there is evidence that the Employee has been absent from work for more than 15 (fifteen) days, which should certainly not be taken as a parameter, given that the obligation to issue the CAT is provided for in a Federal Law and must be respected.
In turn, the CAT can be Initial or Reopening. The difference between the two is precisely the reason. If the accident itself or the occupational disease are new, the CAT is considered to be Initial; however, if the CAT already exists and there is still a need to change it due to worsening injuries or the occupational disease, the CAT is called Reopening.
Furthermore, we see that a common mistake made by employers is to consider an injury caused by an accident, or an occupational disease, as mild, when it can be aggravated over time. In other words, something that could have prevented it, could have harmed it (the failure to report it to the competent body).
Article 22, “caput”, of Law No. 8,213/1991, at the same time as stating that it is compulsory to issue the CAT, also highlights the consequences of not reporting it. It is therefore understood that if the company or domestic employer fails to report the accident or occupational illness to the INSS within the time limit laid down by law, they will face a fine, with a minimum and maximum limit, on their contribution salary.
Of course, if the Employer repeats such a damaging attitude, the Social Security itself may increase the penalty, applying repeat consequences and, if the Employer again fails to comply with its obligations, the INSS will begin to effectively and efficiently collect the fine.
Certainly, in the case of a harmful action or omission, this would be reflected in the Brazilian Penal Code – CPB, because based on article 269, a doctor who, with knowledge of a disease, fails to notify the competent public authority, commits a crime, subject to a penalty of detention, calculated from 06 (six) months to 02 (two) years, in addition to the payment of a fine.
In other words, a company doctor who is aware of an accident at work, a commuting accident or an occupational disease and who, despite the obligation laid down by law, fails to notify the competent authority, commits a crime, applicable under the CPB, in addition to the company itself suffering the consequences under the law, which provides for Social Security Benefit Plans – Law No. 8,213/1991.
First of all, it should be noted that if the company or employer fails to report a certain event to the competent body, the employee cannot simply suffer damages on his own. Therefore, if the Employer fails to notify the competent body, other authorities may do so, as set out in the second paragraph[2] of article 22 of Law 8.213/1991, namely:
- The injured person or person with an occupational disease;
- The dependents of the injured person or occupational disease sufferer, should they die;
- The relevant trade union, preferably that of the employee’s category;
- The doctor who treated and cared for the Employee during the suffering period;
- Or, finally, any other competent authority.
It is important to point out here that the employee will not be harmed if this communication is made by someone else, in other words, even if it is not made by his employer, as he will keep all his rights protected in the same way. Here, the damage would fall solely and exclusively on the Company or the Domestic Employer, in the event of failure to notify the competent body.
Having gone beyond this preliminary information, it is important to note that the CAT can be issued either manually or online.
Currently, the manual method is in disuse, not least because some Social Security Agencies, in practice, may reject it and order it to be done online.
When using the online method, which is currently the most widely used and accepted by the INSS, the Employer or any other person responsible for the aforementioned communication must use the form made available, either on the electronic site, or through the application via cell phones, notebooks, among others, of the Social Security itself, or they can actually go to any of the Agencies throughout Brazil.
Whether manual, online or in person, the CAT must be issued in four (4) copies, as stated on the Social Security website itself, and also in article 357 of INSS Normative Instruction 45 of August 2010, as follows:
- The first copy must remain with the competent body, i.e. the INSS;
- The second copy must be given to the insured person, i.e. the employee who has suffered an accident or has an occupational disease, or to the insured person’s dependents if he or she has died as a result of such events;
- The 3rd copy must be delivered to the relevant Trade Union, i.e. the one related to the Insured’s category;
- And finally, the 4th and last copy must remain on file at the Company or with the Domestic Employer, if issued by them, or handed over to them, if issued by another competent person, in accordance with the legislation.
It is worth saying that the issuer of the CAT, if it is not the Insured Person themselves, has the duty to forward all copies to the relevant authorities, as well as being obliged to inform the Insured Person, i.e. the Employee, of the place where the CAT was registered, precisely in order to avoid any kind of unnecessary inconvenience.
Also, if the issuer describes or points out any incorrect data when issuing the CAT, once it has been issued it cannot be altered or corrected by the issuer. Therefore, the issuer must go to one of the Social Security Agencies to inform them of the error and try to correct it with the competent agency, in order to make any kind of change, if necessary.
At the end of all this discussion, it should be noted that, through physical research, several lawyers working in the social security area suggest a reasonable period of 10 (ten) years to file the CAT and avoid unnecessary problems.
Marcos Martins Advogados is always attentive to legislative changes and to jurisprudential understandings and positions in labor matters, maintaining its commitment to excellence in providing legal services to its clients by providing adequate answers in accordance with current legislation.
[1] Art. 23: The day of the accident, in the case of a professional or occupational disease, shall be deemed to be the date of the onset of the incapacity to work for the exercise of the habitual activity, or the day of compulsory segregation, or the day on which the diagnosis is made, whichever occurs first.
[2] Paragraph 2. If the company fails to notify the injured person, the injured person’s dependents, the competent trade union body, the doctor who assisted the injured person or any public authority may notify the company, in which case the time limit laid down in this article shall not apply.
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