| (1) | The provisions of this regulation shall be— |
| (a) | applicable to an educator, as well as his or her dependants, who are stationed abroad and who receive medical treatment there or during visits to the Republic; |
| (b) | mutatis mutandis applicable to the husband and children of a married female educator who accompany her abroad; |
| (c) | subject to subregulation (3), mutatis mutandis applicable to the dependant children of educators stationed abroad who live in the Republic or who visit their parents abroad; |
| (d) | applicable to an educator who is an official visit abroad. |
| (a) | An educator stationed abroad— |
| (i) | may be compensated by the Department of Foreign Affairs for the difference between the cost of a medical or related service abroad in respect of which an educator's medical scheme grants benefits and the actual benefits paid out by the medical scheme concerned in terms of its rules: Provided that the employers' contribution with regard to the services referred to in subregulation (8) shall be limited to an amount determined by the Minister; |
| (ii) | and his or her dependants may be compensated by the employer for subsistence and travelling expenses necessarily and inevitably incurred in order to acquire specific medical and related services elsewhere than at his or her station: Provided that the benefit is subject thereto that a particular service is not available at the educator's station or that it is of an unacceptably low standard; and |
| (iii) | may, notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) be paid subsistence and travelling expenses in cases where the employer is of the opinion that it would be a less expensive arrangement to convey such educator to a suitable place elsewhere than his or her station for medical treatment. |
| (i) | If an educator is on an official visit abroad and he or she must necessarily and inevitably make use of medical services there, the difference between the cost of such treatment abroad and the cost of a similar service charges by a supplier of such a service in the Republic may be refunded to him or her by the employer. |
| (ii) | The provisions of subparagraph (i) shall mutatis mutandis be applicable in respect of the spouse of an educator who accompanies him or her officially. |
| (a) | In order for an educator stationed abroad to qualify for the benefits in this regulation, he or she has to be a member or a dependant of a member (recognised as such by the medical scheme) of a medical scheme in the Republic which grants benefit with regard to medical or related expenses incurred abroad and which is willing to make such payments to the Department of Foreign Affairs. |
| (b) | In the case where an educator is seconded to an institution abroad and he or she as a result thereof is compelled to obtain membership of a medical scheme to which the employees of the relevant institution have to become members, the medical assistance, where applicable, must be entrenched in the secondment agreement concerned. |
| (a) | In order for an educator stationed abroad to qualify for the benefits in this regulation an amount in accordance with the tariffs as determined by the employer from time to time, and subject to subregulation (5), shall be deducted from the educator's salary and paid into the relevant Provincial Revenue Fund. |
| (b) | The amount referred to in paragraph (a) shall be payable from the first day of the month following the month in which the educator concerned leaves the borders of the Republic until the last day of the month in which he or she is transferred back to the Republic: Provided that this period shall not be regarded to be interrupted by periods of absence for whatever reason: Provided further that the husband and the children of a married female educator who accompanies her abroad shall be taken into account in determining the amount referred to in paragraph (a). |
| (5) | Children of a divorced educator stationed abroad who are registered as dependants of such educator's medical scheme but who are staying with the former spouse within the Republic, qualify mutatis mutandis for the benefits in this regulation: Provided that— |
| (a) | they on a bona fide basis stay with the former spouse and otherwise comply with the requirements relating to dependent children referred to in the definition of "household"; |
| (b) | they are taken into account in determining the amount referred to in subregulation (4)(a); |
| (c) | the amount referred to in subregulation (4)(a) is paid for the duration of the educator's stay abroad; and |
| (d) | where applicable, the educator beforehand exercises a choice to let such children participate in the benefits in this regulation. |
| (6) | The subsistence and travelling expenses referred to in subregulation (2)(a)(ii) shall apply in cases where the necessity of accompaniment contemplated in paragraphs (a) and (c) is confirmed on the basis of a medical certificate— |
| (a) | when a parent accompanies a child who has to undergo medical treatment; |
| (b) | when a spouse accompanies an educator who has to undergo medical treatment; |
| (c) | when an educator accompanies his or her spouse who has to undergo medical treatment; and |
| (d) | when the dependent children of an educator or those of his or her spouse accompany him or her or his or her spouse who has to undergo medical treatment: Provided that no alternative arrangement could be made for their care at the educator's station. |
| (7) | An educator stationed abroad experiencing problems in meeting the financial obligations resulting from the acquiring of a medical service that is recognised for benefit purposes by his or her medical scheme, may apply to the employer for relief-aid in the form of an advancement or the direct settlement of the medical bill: Provided that the payment of the amount of the relief-aid for which application is made, has been demanded by the supplier of the service concerned and that it is taken into account when claims are being processed. |
| (8) | The employer contribution in respect of— |
| (a) | crown and bridgework of teeth; |
| (b) | spectable frames; and |
is limited to an amount calculated in accordance with a basis determined by the Minister.
| (9) | An educator who is transferred abroad, as well as his or her dependents who will accompany him or her, shall prior to their departure undergo a medical examination by a registered physician at the cost of the employer: Provided that the employer may in his or her discretion and for reasons acceptable to him or her, grant exemption from such a medical examination. |
| (10) | The submission, channelling and processing of claims shall be done in accordance with regulation 67. |
| (a) | In cases where an educator on an official visit abroad receives medical treatment, the contribution to be made by the employer towards the costs of such treatment may be determined after consultation with the medical scheme of which the educator is a member. |
| (b) | If an educator referred to in paragraph (a) is not a member of a medical scheme the costs of a similar service must be determined by the employer after consultation with an acknowledged medical scheme. |
| (c) | The provisions contained in subregulation (7), (8) and (9) shall mutatis mutandis apply to an educator referred to in paragraph (a). |
| (a) | The Department of Foreign Affairs— |
| (i) | annually provides on its vote for the expenditure resulting from the granting of benefits referred to in subregulation (2)(a)(i) above with regard to all educators stationed abroad; and |
| (ii) | is, where applicable, responsible for establishing the basis in accordance whereof foreign currencies are to be converted to rand or vice versa. |
| (b) | Individual employers shall provide for the following expenses: |
| (i) | Expenses resulting from the medical treatment of educators on official visits abroad. |
| (ii) | Subsistence and travelling expenses referred to in subregulation (2)(a)(ii), read with subregulation (6). |
| (iii) | The granting of relief-aid as referred to in subregulation (7). |
| (iv) | Expenses resulting from medical examinations referred to in subregulation (9). |
