Selection: Can an employee be recognized as a work-related injury if he or she is injured in a team building activity organized by a participating unit?

Selected Q&A on the legal answering network

Can an employee who is injured in a team building activity organized by the participating unit be recognized as a work-related injury?

Q&A: According to the provisions of Article 14, Item 5 of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance, "if a person is injured due to work reasons or whose whereabouts are unknown in an accident while he is away from work", it shall be recognized as a work-related injury.

Article 4 of the Opinions (II) of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance stipulates that: "If an employee is injured in an accident while participating in an activity organized by an employer or assigned by an employer to participate in an activity organized by another unit, it shall be regarded as a work-related cause, except for participating in activities unrelated to work." Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases Involving Work-related Injury Insurance stipulates that "if an employee is injured while participating in an employer's organization or is assigned by the employer to participate in an activity organized by another unit", the people's court shall uphold the work-related injury if it is determined by the social insurance administrative department. Therefore, whether an employee's injury in a team building activity organized by the participating unit is recognized as a work-related injury should be carefully considered from various aspects such as the purpose of the activity, the bearing of expenses, the content of the activity arrangement, and the composition of the participants, so as to determine whether it is work-related.

For the cultural and sports activities organized or designated by the employer to participate in, as well as the activities organized by the employer that require "participation can only be participated in through the procedures of the unit's assignment and selection", the employee can be regarded as a work cause, and the injury of an employee in these team building activities can be recognized as a work-related injury; However, if an employer arranges or organizes employees to participate in catering, tourism, leisure and entertainment activities in the name of work, or engages in activities involving leadership or personal interests, it is generally not deemed to be "due to work reasons".

To sum up, whether an employee's injury in a team building activity organized by the participating unit can be recognized as a work-related injury should be judged whether the team building activity is work-related, and a comprehensive determination should be made from the purpose of the activity, the bearing of expenses, the content of the activity arrangement, and the composition of the participants. In addition, there are some similar cases for reference, such as (2020) Yue Xing Shen No. 1161, (2019) Liao Xing Shen No. 211, (2019) Su Xing Shen No. 1046, and (2019) Hu 03 Xing Zhong No. 67.

Commentator: Shen Jianfeng, Professor of the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics, Director of the Academic Committee of the Law School of the China Institute of Labor Relations, and Vice President of the Labor and Personnel Dispute Settlement Committee of the China Labor Society

Comments: "Work reason" is the core element of work-related injury determination, and it is also the most difficult element. This is true when injuries occur during working hours and in the workplace, and this is especially true when injuries occur during non-working hours and in the workplace. Based on whether injuries injured in team building activities can be recognized as work-related injuries, this Q&A opinion systematically sorts out the relevant rules for the determination of work-related injuries suffered during the activities organized by the units involved, and answers in detail this question, which is more common in practice in recent years and is more difficult to deal with. This Q&A not only explains the general idea of determining work-related injuries when injured during the activities organized by the unit through specific issues, but also explains the specific circumstances of determining the relevance of the content of the activities and the work from both positive and negative aspects through examples, which has guiding value for judicial practice. On the whole, this Q&A is a useful exploration of the identification of work-related injuries when injured during the organizational activities of the unit, and has strong guidance and reference value for the solution of this problem.

(Excerpted from "Selected Questions and Answers on the Legal Answering Network (First Batch)", published in the 7th edition of the People's Court Daily on February 29, 2024)

Referee Rules

1. The employer's organization of employees' travel, research and other team building activities is a reasonable extension of the work, and should be recognized as a work-related injury - Zhu XX v. the People's Insurance Bureau, a case of work-related injury insurance eligibility determination

The gist of the case: If the employer's organization of employees' travel, research and other team building activities is arranged by the company, managed by the company, and borne by the company, it should be deemed to be a reasonable extension of the working hours, work place and work responsibilities, and it is a situation where the injury caused by work is determined to be a work-related injury as stipulated in Item 5 of Article 14 of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance.

Trial court: Beijing Haidian District People's Court

Source: People's Court Daily, February 7, 2023, page 3

2. Most of the employee activities include leisure and entertainment activities, and the recreation items can also be decided by the participants to participate in them, which is not mandatory, and the injuries of employees in participating in the activities do not belong to the situation of injuries due to work-related injuries - Liu v. Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and reconsideration organ for work-related injury insurance qualification determination

The gist of the case: Whether an employee's injury while participating in an activity organized by the employer can be recognized as a work-related injury shall be comprehensively judged based on the nature and content of the activity. The employer's arrangement or organization of employees to participate in cultural and sports activities shall be regarded as the reason for work. Employers arranging or organizing employees to participate in catering, tourism, leisure and entertainment activities in the name of work, or engaging in activities involving leaders or personal interests, cannot be used as work reasons. Employee activities include mostly leisure, entertainment activities, play items can also be decided by the participants whether to participate, is not mandatory, employees in the activity is injured not due to work injuries.

Case source: Jiangsu Court Network, release date: September 20, 2023

3. To determine whether an employee's injury in an activity organized by the unit is an injury caused by work, careful consideration should be made from the purpose, nature, content, form and other aspects of the activity - Huang XX v. Guangzhou Yidong Electromechanical Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Huadu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau

The gist of the case: The activities organized by the employer are part of the work content, and the determination of whether the injury of an employee in the activities organized by the unit is an injury caused by work should be carefully considered from the purpose, nature, content, form and other aspects of the activity. The activities organized by the unit are the behavior of the unit, which is a means and way to strengthen the employees' recognition of the company's culture, mobilize the enthusiasm of the employees, and enhance the cohesion of the employees.

Case No.: (2020) Yue Xing Shen No. 1161

Trial court: Guangdong Provincial High People's Court

Case source: Faxin platform

4. If the unit formulates an incentive plan to improve the performance of employees and organizes and selects employees to travel, such activities are part of the work, and the employees' travel is for work reasons and related to the performance of job duties, and the accident that occurs when the employee participates in the activity shall be recognized as a work-related injury - Wang Moumou and Sun Moumou v. Shenyang Tiexi District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau Labor and Social Security Administration and Management Case

The gist of the case: in order to improve the performance of employees, the unit formulates an incentive plan, selects a certain proportion of personnel to participate in the activities organized by the unit according to the performance of the employees, and encourages the employees with outstanding performance through the organization of activities, tourism, conferences, training, etc., and the funds for the activities are borne by the unit, so similar tourism activities are part of the entire work content, which is selected by the unit through the organization and according to the plan, and is not the voluntary participation of each employee. Therefore, the employee's participation in such tourism activities is for work reasons and related to the performance of work duties, and meets the requirements of Article 14 (5) of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance and Article 4 (2) of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases of Work-related Injury Insurance, and the people's court shall support the conditions for determining work-related injuries.

Case No.: (2019) Liao Xing Shen No. 211

Trial court: Liaoning Provincial High People's Court

Case source: Faxin platform

5. If an employee participates in an activity organized by the unit and has an accident, but the main content of the activity is not directly related to the work, it cannot be determined that the activity is an integral part of the work and does not belong to the situation of injury due to work-Jiang Moumou v. Changzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and Changzhou Chaodian Construction Technology Co., Ltd. Labor Administrative Confirmation Case

The gist of the case: An accident occurred when an employee participated in an activity organized by the unit, but there was no direct relationship between the main content of the activity and the work, nor was there any fact that there were other outreach, cultural and sports activities. Therefore, this activity cannot be considered as an integral part of the work, and does not fall under the circumstances of work-related injuries during the period of absence from work as stipulated in the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance.

Case No.: (2019) Su Xingshen No. 1046

Trial court: Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court

Case source: Faxin platform

6. If an employee participates in a collective activity organized by the unit, but has nothing to do with the work itself, and is injured in an accident, it cannot be recognized as a work-related injury - Shanghai Sole Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., Shanghai Putuo District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and Shanghai Putuo District People's Government shall not recognize the work-related injury decision and administrative reconsideration decision

The gist of the case: Not all collective activities organized by the unit are regarded as work-related, and should be comprehensively determined from aspects such as the purpose of the activity, the bearing of expenses, the content of the activity arrangement, and the composition of the participants. Employees participate in collective activities organized by the unit, and the expenses and itinerary are the responsibility of the unit, but there are no work-related activities and matters arranged in the itinerary, and the activities that cause the employee to drown are high-risk tourism projects, and the unit does not force the employees to participate, let alone work reasons. Therefore, if an employee is injured in an accident, it does not meet the requirements for recognizing work-related injuries or treating them as work-related injuries.

Case No.: (2019) Hu 03 Xing Zhong No. 67

Trial court: Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court

Case source: Faxin platform

Judicial perspectives

Excursions organized by a unit are intrinsically related to work, and injuries sustained during such activities shall be found to be work-related injuries

In order to make employees work better, employers organize employees to go out for excursions, which is a welfare treatment for employees and an aspect of corporate culture construction. The excursion itself cannot exist separately from the identity of the employee, and the organization of the excursion is intrinsically related to the work. Therefore, organizing excursions is conducive to enhancing the creativity and team spirit of employees, and enhancing the sense of belonging of employees. The reason for work referred to in the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance does not only refer to one's own full-time work, but also refers to the usual fixed working hours, and the workplace is not only a fixed office and work location. As long as the employer arranges or organizes all activities related to the work or the interests of the employees from the perspective of its own interests, it can be regarded as work.

Practice contention

There are two completely different views in judicial practice on whether an accidental injury sustained by a participating unit during a travel activity can be recognized as a work-related injury.

The first view is that the activities that employees participate in when they are injured are excursions organized by the employer on their rest days. Since the place of injury is not in the workplace, the time of injury is not working hours, and the cause of injury is not work-related reasons, but is not related to one's own work, it cannot be recognized as a work-related injury. In addition, if the scope of work-related injury recognition is arbitrarily expanded, it will not only be inconsistent with the legislative purpose of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance, and will not be conducive to the employer's work and organizational activities, but will also harm the potential interests of employees in the future.

The second view is that the excursion activities organized by the unit are intrinsically related to the work, and the activities cannot exist separately from the identity of the employee, and the injury in this activity should be recognized as a work-related injury.

Guidelines for Adjudication

The author prefers the second view, for the following reasons:

First of all, the organization of excursions by the unit is a welfare treatment for employees, and the unit generally requires employees to obey the command, take into account the overall situation, abide by discipline, and maintain the good reputation of the employer in public places. Therefore, such activities are a corporate behavior, which is different from the private behavior of going out with others.

Secondly, the organization of excursions is a means and way for the unit to strengthen the unity and cooperation among the employees, enhance the cohesion of the employees, mobilize the enthusiasm of the employees, and improve the work efficiency. The above-mentioned activities are intrinsically related to work and are a normal work arrangement of the employer. Employees participate in this activity and go out for work.

Thirdly, if the employee is injured as part of the established arrangement in the organization of the activity, and is not another activity in which the employee participates on his own, the injury suffered in the activity has a causal relationship with the work-related cause, and it is an injury suffered due to work-related reasons.

Finally, in the labor relationship, the employee is in a weak position as the managed and the employer is in a strong position, so in order to truly achieve legal equality between the two, the protection of employees' rights should be highlighted. If the constitutive elements of work-related injury such as work-related injuries are too rigidly and narrowly understood, it will not be possible to provide adequate and effective judicial remedies to workers in vulnerable positions. In fact, only by applying the requirements and standards for the determination of work-related injuries leniently can the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of workers injured by accidents be protected to a greater extent and the equitable value of the law can be realized.

Of course, this does not mean that injuries sustained in non-work-related activities while away from work can also be recognized as work-related injuries. Exploring the specific meaning of legal provisions through the original intent of legislation is conducive to making up for the limitations of statutory law, but it cannot be arbitrarily expanded without limits, otherwise it will run counter to the purpose and requirements of the law. Injuries caused by an employee's illegal conduct or conduct for personal purposes in violation of the established arrangements of the employer cannot be applied leniently because the activities engaged in are not intrinsically related to the work, and cannot be recognized as a work-related injury.

(Excerpted from "Standards and Norms for Adjudication of Labor Disputes", People's Court Press, 2014 edition, pp. 694~696)

Letters of the law

1. Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance (Revised in 2010)

Article 14 In any of the following circumstances, an employee shall be deemed to have suffered a work-related injury:

(1) Being injured in an accident during working hours and in the workplace due to work-related reasons;

(2) Being injured in an accident while engaging in work-related preparatory or finishing work in the workplace before or after working hours;

(3) Suffering violence or other accidental injuries during working hours and in the workplace as a result of performing work duties;

(4) Suffering from an occupational disease;

(5) During the period when they are away for work, they are injured due to work reasons or their whereabouts are unknown in an accident;

(6) Being injured in a traffic accident or an urban rail transit, passenger ferry, or train accident for which they are not primarily responsible while commuting to or from work;

(7) Other circumstances that laws and administrative regulations provide shall be recognized as work-related injuries.

2. Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases of Work-related Injury Insurance

Article 4: Where the social insurance administrative departments determine that the following circumstances are work-related injuries, the people's courts shall support them:

(1) The employee is injured during working hours and in the workplace, and the employer or the social insurance administrative department has no evidence to prove that it was caused by non-work reasons;

(2) Employees are harmed by participating in activities organized by the employer or assigned by the employer to participate in activities organized by other units;

(3) During working hours, an employee is injured as a result of traveling between multiple workplaces related to his or her job duties;

(4) Other injuries related to the performance of work duties during working hours and within a reasonable area.

3. Opinions of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance (II)

4. If an employee is injured in an accident while participating in an activity organized by an employer or assigned by an employer to participate in an activity organized by another unit, it shall be regarded as a cause of work, except for participating in activities unrelated to work.