Is the death of an employee due to a sudden illness during a company-organized trip a work-related injury?

★ Brief

Du was an employee of a Shanghai instrument and equipment company. On January 16, 2019, Du suddenly fell ill while participating in a company-organized tour in Boracay, Philippines, and died after ineffective treatment at a local medical center.

The company applied to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security(MOHRSS) in Shanghai for recognition of work-related injuries in connection with the death of Du who died of a sudden illness while traveling. The MOHRSS issued a decision on the non-recognition of work-related injuries, considering that the injury suffered by Du was not recognized or deemed to be a work-related injury.

Du’s family appealed to the court to request the revocation of the MOHRSS’s decision.

★The verdict

After the trial, the court issued a verdict, rejecting all the claims of Du’s family.

The court held that, according to the evidence provided by the MOHRSS, such as the company’s statement, travel contract, and other employees’ investigation records of work-related injuries, it can prove that the company trip is a welfare activity and is not work-related. In the course of the tour, Du died of a sudden illness and was not rescued, which does not belong to the accidental injury caused by work and does not meet the situation that should be recognized or deemed as work-related injuries. The MOHRSS’s decision not to recognize the work-related injury was clear in its determination of the facts and correct in its application of the law.

Due to the lack of factual evidence, the court rejected the statement of Du’s family that the tour organized by the company was an extension of work.

★ Comment of Lawyer Tang

In this case, the company organized the tour as a welfare activity, which Du voluntarily participated, the employee who did not participated was not exerted any influence to be forced to participate in the trip, this activity belongs to the general sense of tourism activities that does not constitute an extension or part of the work, so the court and the MOHRSS found that the death of Du sudden illness does not constitute a deemed work-related injury.

The issue of whether an injury sustained by an employee while participating in a collective activity organized by the employer or assigned by the employer to participate in another unit is recognized as a work-related injury is highly controversial. Then in the practical application process to determine whether the activity the employee participated in is based on work reasons is the key factor to determine the work injury. In general, not only the content and form of the activity should be judged, but also the nature and purpose of the activity, whether it is organized and arranged by the unit, and the cost of the activity should be considered.