Ex-Gratia Medical Payments reviews
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-19)

Guidance for former locally employed staff who were injured in the course of their service.

Overview

The UK government has a policy to provide support to former locally-employed staff in Afghanistan who were injured as a result of their employment with the Ministry of Defence (MOD). This publication explains the eligibility criteria for reviewing ex-gratia medical payments.

Background

Since 2001, local staff in Afghanistan have worked with the UK government playing an important part in our joint efforts towards the shared goal of a more secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

Extremely brave people worked alongside our soldiers on patrol, and in some cases suffered profoundly life-changing injuries as a result of enemy action. The government remains committed to awarding appropriate payments for these people.

The Department has finished revising its process for reviewing ex-gratia medical payments relating to individuals who wish to have their cases re-assessed. This will enable those whose condition has deteriorated beyond their original prognosis, or those who have developed a late-onset condition, to receive a fair full and final payment without prejudice. Review payments are for those whose injuries were reported to MOD at the time, and consideration will be given to cases where no ex-gratia medical payment was previously awarded, where the evidence supports this.

Eligibility Criteria

For a review of ex-gratia medical payment to be made, the applicant must satisfy all of the following criteria, as per the original policy:
- the injury must have occurred during MOD employment and have been recorded by the Department at the time
- there must be sufficient evidence that the condition has deteriorated beyond what was assessed as the projected recovery at the time, or that a new condition has arisen as a result of the original injury. These must have been reported to us within 3 years of formal diagnosis of the deterioration or new condition
- the deterioration or new condition must be a significant permanent physical or mental impairment or disability, including any serious scarring or disfigurement. These payments are not intended to provide compensation for those injuries where the individual is expected to make a complete recovery or where they may be left with some permanent or long-lasting impairment of a less serious nature, for example limited in either the degree of pain or loss of faculty.
Making a claim

Claims should be submitted using the Ex-Gratia Medical Review Claim Form above to xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx), and photocopies of two forms of identification: either your passport or driving licence, and a utility bill showing your current address that is not more than 3 months old.

If there is a record of the original injury and no further information is required, the case will be referred to the review panel, which includes a medical expert.

The panel’s decision will be communicated in writing.

Receiving your payment

If a payment is awarded to you, this will be on a full and final settlement basis without prejudice. You will be asked to sign your understanding of this before the payment can be made. You will also be asked to provide your bank details. Upon receipt of these, the payment will be made as soon as is practically possible.

Appealing the decision

In the event you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can request a review of the communicated decision within 12 months. In such instances the panel will review the case again, and the outcome will be communicated from xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Related information
- Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-locally-employed-staff-ex-gratia-scheme)
- Supporting UK locally employed staff in Afghanistan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-uk-locally-employed-staff-in-afghanistan)