Accident at employer's hospitality event
Tuesday 19th July 2011A firm's fun day at a country park ended in tragedy for one employee who suffered head injuries after falling from his bike in a cycle race and who was not wearing a helmet. The partners from the firm that organised the event were found to be liable in common law for failing to properly assess the risks of the race and insist that cycle helmets were worn by participants. Liability was reduced by two thirds to reflect the employee's own negligence in failing to wear a helmet.
The employee failed, however, to convince the Court that the cycle race was "at work" or "in the course of employment" for the purposes of establishing liability under health and safety regulations. In giving judgment on 15 July 2011, Judge Oliver-Jones QC held that, where an employee was taking advantage of his employer's hospitality, it offended reasonableness to think that the regulations would be applied in such circumstances.
Flora Wood, a Partner at Ashfords' Exeter office, comments: "Although this case draws a clear boundary between what can be classed as being an activity "in the course of employment", it is also a reminder to employers that staff outings and fun days need to be properly assessed for risk. If the activities on offer are not familiar to the employer, assistance should be sought from third parties: in this case, the people who were in charge of the country park".
