I have been asked by a client here in NZ to put together a briefing session for the board of directors on h&s during work organised social events and team building exercises. I am more than happy with drawing this up and dealing with the content but I am seeking some case law to include. I vaguely remember from when I used to work in the UK some years back, that there was some case law established around this. From the little that I remember I believe that it was about some soldiers who were treated to a night out by their section commander for completing some arduous exercises but one of the poor squadies died as a result of his intoxication when he fell from the truck transporting him back to barracks. I understand that the MOD was held liable. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I would like to provide some case law around this in the session and therefore if that one exists, or if there are any others like it, can any of the forum members help please? Cheers Cliffy

I vaguely remember an article on this in the SHP some time ago. The particular point that 'stuck' with me was the argument that these works organised "social events" can be construed (in a court of law) as an extention of work, particularly where non-attendance at the "social" event was looked upon unfavourably by Managers (attendance being effectively mandatory). Sorry to be vague, but the point may be pertinent to you.

Cliffy, Case Report prepared by Soibhan Thomas. Circumstances are not exactly "social events" but certainly not "on duty". "Ministry of Defence v Charles Peter Timothy Radclyffe The Ministry of Defence appealed against the decision that it was vicariously liable for the negligence of an Army Captain which resulted in Mr Radclyffe suffering personal injury. Mr Radclyffe was a Second Lieutenant and the Army Captain was in charge of the group, who were on an adventure training exercise in Germany. On a day off, the Army Captain allowed a number of soldiers to jump into a lake from a bridge. The height of the jump was about 20 metres. Both the Army Captain and Mr Radclyffe jumped from the bridge. The following day Mr Radclyffe and others went swimming in the lake again but Mr Radclyffe was badly injured after he entered the water from the bridge with his legs bent. Mr Radclyffe’s case was that the Army Captain had been negligent in giving permission for or encouraging the men to jump and he had done this based on what the Army Captain had said and done the previous day. The Ministry of Defence case was that they were acting outside the course of employment, no duty of care was owed and Mr Radclyffe had acted of his own volition and at his own risk. It was held that although the officers and men were off duty at the lake, rank and military discipline remained relevant. The Army Captain could not order the men to jump, but he could order them not to jump. The swimming trips were subject to military discipline. The Army Captain had owed the soldiers a duty of care when they were at the lake as he was the officer in charge and it was fair, just and reasonable to consider that he had a duty to take reasonable care to guard his subordinates against a foreseeable risk of injury and was therefore in breach of his duty of care. The Judge was therefore entitled to find that Mr Radclyffe’s decision to jump was causatively influenced by the pressure deriving from what the Army Captain had said and done on the previous day. The Judge was also entitled to assess Mr Radclyffe’s contributory negligence at 40%. The Ministry of Defence’s appeal was therefore dismissed."

Cliffy Unfortunately, I cannot remember the case name but the event at Lyme Bay in 1993 where four schoolchildren died in a canoeing accident directly resulted in the following legislation being enacted: Activity Centres (Young Person’s Safety) Act 1995 and the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 1996 Other incidents are as follows: •Four children lost their lives when they were swept out to sea off the rocks at Land’s End; •Four boys died when they slid over a precipice in Austria; •Twelve children and a teacher died when their minibus crashed into the back of a maintenance vehicle on the hard shoulder of the M40; I know these are dealing with young people but the Adventure Activities Regs may well give an insight on how to organise events and I expect that young or inexperienced people may well get involved. Hope this helps? JKR