Companies are being urged to take precautions against possible compensation claims by staff injured on corporate away-days and teambuilding activities.
Claims investigation and risk assessment company Themis is warning employers of the dangers of providing staff with excess alcohol on days out or taking them on potentially risky activities. Excess alcohol is estimated to account for between 20% and 25% of all work-related injuries.
"Even though corporate away days take place outside the workplace companies are still responsible for their staff and need to take precautions before organising activities," said Simon Parums, founder and managing director of Themis.
He gives the example of a company in Yorkshire that took its staff quad-biking and ended up facing a personal injury claim from one employee.
"In this particular case the claim wasn't awarded as we found the employee had received the right amount of training before getting on the quad bike and had not disclosed a medical condition beforehand," said Parums.
"Companies planning corporate away days needn't be put off but they should pay attention to all the risks involved.
"In some cases they should contact their solicitor to have a disclaimer drawn up for their staff to sign before the trip, in which they agree the company will not be responsible if anything goes wrong," he added.
Themis recommends the following tips for companies offering corporate away-days:
- Identify all potential risks involved in any activity
- Make sure adequate training is given to everyone before the activity
- Always give the option of whether or not to take part
- Have a disclaimer drawn up for each employee to sign detailing the company will not be responsible if something goes wrong
- Write down full details of the activity and give to staff before it commences
