Christmas parties are a great time to celebrate the year’s achievements and thank your team, but they also bring unique risks for employers and insurers. Understanding when an injury may be compensable under the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) (the Act), can help ensure your end of year celebrations are both enjoyable and safe.
Under the Act, an injury can be either:
To be compensable, a personal injury by accident must arise out of or in the course of employment, or while the worker is acting under the employer’s instructions[1]. Examples at Christmas parties might include injuries sustained when participating in activities during the function, such as amusement rides, obstacle courses, or team-building games.
For a disease (or recurrence, aggravation or acceleration of one) to be compensable, it must have been contracted in the course of the employment, whether at or away from the place of employment and the employment must have contributed to a significant degree to the contraction[2]. Case law has interpreted this to mean that the employment must have materially contributed to the condition[3]. For example, with respect to a Christmas party, a psychological injury such as anxiety or depression arising from harassment, bullying, or unauthorised social media posts related to a Christmas party may fall within this category.
Whether a Christmas party falls within “the course of employment” is a factual inquiry which will turn on the individual circumstances of each claim. However, case law offers some useful guidance:
In Youngblutt v Workers Compensation Regulator (QLD)[4]the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission found that the employer had induced attendance at the Christmas party through invitations, shift adjustments, and reserved seating at the venue (among other things).
In Mozsny v Comcare[5], employees organised their own Saturday party, funding it themselves and proceeding without managerial approval. While the event had been discussed at work and coordinated through department emails, the tribunal found it was not in the course of employment, and any injuries sustained were therefore not compensable.
Some functions fall in a grey area, such as an informal lunch held with employer awareness but no formal endorsement, or situations where employees stay on after a work function has ended. In White v Institute of Surveyors Australia Inc[6], the ACT Supreme Court found that a worker who stayed at a bar after a work function had concluded was outside the course of the employment. The employer had made it clear the event had ended by offering to drive her home, and any injuries sustained thereafter were not compensable.
These cases highlight a few important factors to consider when assessing liability for Christmas party incidents:
Claims for injuries sustained while travelling to or from a Christmas party are regulated under the Act[7]. Whether an injury is compensable depends on the purpose of the journey and its connection to the employment. The following scenarios illustrate how the law is applied:
Venue Liability: If someone is injured due to the venue’s failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent a reasonably foreseeable and not insignificant risk of harm (for example, unsafe flooring or poor lighting), there may be scope to pursue a have a negligence claim against the venue under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1985 (WA). This is especially relevant for partners or directors, who are typically not covered under the Act. An employee who sustains an injury may also pursue a negligence claim against the venue. In which case the employer or insurer may then have a right of recovery under section 435 of the Act for compensation it has paid to the employee for the compensable injury.
Alcohol-related incidents: Injuries arising from intoxication, such as falls, fights, or other injuries can raise complex questions of liability. While it may seem unfair for an employer to be liable when the injury results from a worker’s misconduct, the Act only excludes liability where the injury results from the worker’s serious and wilful misconduct. This is a high threshold to meet as the worker’s conduct must be, both, serious and wilful and cannot result in serious and permanent injury to the worker. While intoxication by alcohol or drugs of addiction that causes injury can lead to a denial of liability, proving actual impairment by intoxication and that it caused the injury can be difficult. For a deeper discussion, see our recent article: You cannot be serious (and wilful): Navigating s 20.
[1] Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 6
[2] Ibid
[3] Mokta v Metro Meat International Ltd [2005] WASCA 143
[4] [2019] QIRC 100
[5] [2018] AATA 1966
[6] [2004] ACTSC 61
[7] Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 9
This article was written by Sophia Ranson, Lawyer Insurance & Risk.