29Liability of principal in case of workers employed by contractors

### 29 Liability of principal in case of workers employed by contractors > > (1)  Where a person (in this section referred to as "the principal") in the course of, or for the purposes of, his trade or business contracts with any other person (in this section referred to as "the contractor") for the execution by or under the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal, the principal is liable to pay to a worker employed in the execution of the work any compensation under this Act that he would have been liable to pay if that worker had been immediately employed by him. > > > (2)  Where compensation is claimed from, or proceedings are taken against, the principal, then, in the application of this Act, a reference to the principal shall be substituted for a reference to the employer, and the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the earnings of the worker under the employer by whom he is immediately employed. > > > (3)  In the construction of the provisions of this section, the expression ***the principal*** includes a contractor who enters into a sub-contract with any other person for the whole or any part of the work undertaken by him, and the expression ***the contractor*** includes a person who takes such a sub-contract. > > > (4)  [*\[Section 29 Subsection (4) amended by No. 99 of 2000, s. 17, Applied:01 Jul 2001\]*](/view/html/inforce/2001-07-01/act-2000-099#GS17@EN) Where the principal is liable to pay compensation under this section, he is entitled to be indemnified by any person, other than the Nominal Insurer, who would have been liable to pay compensation to the worker independently of this section, and the right to that indemnity is available against every contractor standing between the principal and the worker. > > > (5)  Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a worker recovering compensation under this Act from the contractor instead of the principal. > > > (6)  This section does not apply in any case where the injury occurs elsewhere than on, in, or about the place on which the principal has undertaken to execute the work or that is otherwise under his control or management.