Adventure park, canoe trip, cooking contest, a football match on the pitch behind the warehouse – at most companies the team-building event is one of the most enjoyable days of the year. Until someone has an accident. At that point HR receives three questions at once: is this a workplace accident? Is the company liable? And will the group insurance pay, given that we took it out for working hours only? As a broker, I see that the answer to each of the three questions comes from a different source, and the three do not necessarily coincide. This article takes the three classifications apart and shows what is worth settling before the event.
- An accident at a team-building event can be treated as a workplace accident and as damage connected with the employment relationship if attendance was organised or expected by the employer, typically during working hours and with pay – for a voluntary leisure programme this is questionable.
- Under Section 166 of the Labour Code (Mt.), the employer is liable regardless of fault for damage caused in connection with the employment relationship; the employee's culpable contribution – for example intoxication – may reduce the compensation.
- Group accident cover limited to working time depends on the policy conditions' own definition: some conditions expressly exclude accidents at employer events, while with 24-hour cover the question does not even arise.
Is an accident at a team-building event a workplace accident?
Under Section 87 point 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Act XCIII of 1993, Mvt.), a workplace accident is an accident that befalls the employee in the course of organised work or in connection with it, regardless of where and when it occurs; the Act expressly includes accidents that occur while using other services provided by the employer. This is where a team-building event is decided: if attendance was organised, expected or made compulsory by the employer, the programme took place during working hours and the employees were paid for that time, the courts typically regard the accident as connected with the employment relationship. If, however, it was a voluntary leisure programme outside working hours that colleagues chose of their own accord, the connection is questionable and depends on the circumstances of the case.
Three classifications, three consequences
Three branches of law ask three questions about the same accident. The occupational-safety classification concerns notification, investigation and the workplace accident report (Mvt. Section 64). The social-security classification – an occupational accident (üzemi baleset) under Section 52 of the Health Insurance Act (Ebtv.) – decides on accident sick pay and accident-related healthcare services, and the occupational nature is established by a decision of the health insurance authority. The employment-law classification concerns compensation: under Section 166(1) of the Hungarian Labour Code (Mt.), the employer must compensate damage caused in connection with the employment relationship regardless of fault, and is exempted only if it proves that the damage was caused by an unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstance outside its sphere of control, or solely by the unavoidable conduct of the injured party. Under Section 167, the part of the loss caused by the employee's culpable conduct need not be compensated – a stunt attempted under the influence of alcohol may fall into this category. A separate article covers the relationship between the group payout and compensation; suffice it to say here that the one does not replace the other.
And the group cover? The definition decides
Group accident insurance does not apply the Occupational Safety and Health Act but its own policy conditions. With 24-hour cover the question does not even arise: the insurer pays for accidents at any hour of the day, including outside work, within the limits of the exclusions. With the – less expensive – version limited to working time, however, everything depends on how the policy conditions define the covered accident. Some conditions cover accidents that occur in the course of organised work or in connection with it, at the workplace or during official work, on a business trip, or on the way between home and the workplace; there is a Hungarian workplace accident insurance condition that, in addition, expressly excludes accidents occurring at group cultural, sporting and other events or excursions organised for the insured persons, except for road traffic accidents. Some conditions may tie the benefit to the workplace accident report or to the definition in the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The lesson is simple: the fact that an accident is a workplace accident under the law does not automatically mean that the working-hours cover pays – and vice versa. The insurer pays only for what is an insured event under the contract. That is why it is worth reading the definitions in the policy conditions and their exclusions before taking out the policy.
Sport, alcohol, adventure: the typical exclusions
The signature activities of team-building events also turn up on the exclusion lists of policy conditions. Activities classed as extreme or dangerous sports – rafting, rock climbing, quad biking, diving – are typically exclusions or risks covered for an additional premium in Hungarian policy conditions, with lists that differ from insurer to insurer; a separate article covers sports risks. Alcohol counts twice over: policy conditions typically treat intoxication above a specified blood alcohol level as gross negligence or as an exclusion, and some conditions do so only if the intoxication contributed to the accident. Where the insurer relies on exemption, the burden of proof lies with the insurer; in the employer's compensation, the same fact may weigh in the company's favour as the employee's culpable contribution. At an event both effects apply at the same time, so it is worth setting clear limits on drinking in advance.
What should HR settle before the event?
I see four practical steps as advisable. First: ask the insurer in writing – or through me – whether the working-hours cover of the policy in force extends to the planned programme; the answer, together with the specific clauses of the policy conditions, should go on file. Second: if it does not, consider switching to 24-hour cover or taking out one-off, short-term accident insurance for the event – premiums and content differ from insurer to insurer, and I compare these across insurers. Third: in the programme description, make clear whether attendance is voluntary or expected, how working time is accounted for and what the rule on alcohol is, because all of these count in the classification. Fourth: the person responsible for the event should have the list of steps to take after an accident to hand – first aid, documenting the injury, witnesses, medical treatment. It is also worth explaining the difference between the insurer's and the employer's classification honestly in communication to employees: the internal FAQ is a suitable place for this.
What should you do if an accident has happened?
The employer must handle the injury in line with occupational safety rules: notification, investigation, report – this may be needed both for recognition of the occupational nature and for the insurance claim. The group benefit claim is reported by the entitled employee via the insurer's claims line or online portal; the employer helps with certificates and documents but does not take over the reporting. If a case gets stuck or disputed – for example, if the insurer declines because of the nature of the event – I help where I can, acting on the client's behalf: I go through the relevant clauses of the policy conditions and explain which complaint routes are available. I do not represent anyone in the claim, and the legal dispute – including the question of the employer's liability – must be left to a lawyer. Most team-building cases, however, are not about disputes but about whether the contract was thought through before the event; and that part depends on the discussion before the event, not on the claims dispute.
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Sources
- Occupational Safety and Health Act (Mvt., Act XCIII of 1993) Section 64 and Section 87 point 3 – notification of workplace accidents; definition of a workplace accident
- Hungarian Labour Code (Mt., Act I of 2012) Sections 166–167 – the employer's liability for damages, exemption, the employee's culpable contribution
- Health Insurance Act (Ebtv., Act LXXXIII of 1997) Section 52 – definition of an occupational accident
- Hungarian State Treasury (Magyar Államkincstár) – Occupational accident (establishing the occupational nature, accident sick pay)
- HRPWR – Who is liable if an accident happens at a team-building event? (19 July 2023)
- Special conditions for workplace accident insurance (MKB Általános Biztosító, MK0801 – undated, earlier conditions; conditions currently on sale may differ), points 2.1, 4.2.2 and 7.2 – definition of a workplace accident, event exclusion, gross negligence
