Statutory accident insurance: No protection on the dance floor

Fall at a company event

No insurance coverage on the dance floor

Statutory accident insurance also covers company events. But not every activity is insured – even if the boss orders it.

Anyone who is injured at work is usually covered by statutory accident insurance. This sometimes also applies to trips or other events organized by the company. However, this protection is not limitless: Anyone who goes too wild on the dance floor is not covered by statutory accident insurance. Not even if the employer orders the dance.

This emerges from a current decision from the Hamburg Social Court (Az: S 40 U 56/26), which the “Beck aktuell” portal reports on. The specific case involved the executive assistant of a bank who had been sent by her superior on an incentive trip organized by the bank. The financial institution wanted to use this to reward particularly successful sales employees. The assistant should coordinate the processes on site and ensure that things run smoothly.

The trip also included a so-called “Nite Club” as an evening event – ​​a party where there was also dancing. To heat up the mood and motivate those present, the executive assistant joined us on the dance floor. However, she fell and broke her wrist.

However, the Hamburg Social Court was unable to recognize this incident as an industrial accident. The statutory accident insurance coverage could certainly also apply to the incentive trip – after all, the woman was working as an organizer for her employer. However, the insurance coverage does not apply across the board to everything. There is no continuous insurance cover on a company trip – only operational activities are insured.

According to the court, this does not include dancing. The fact that the woman wanted to get the party going and keep it going does not automatically make dancing a business activity. Even an explicit request from the boss wouldn’t have changed anything. The employer cannot turn an uninsured activity into an insured one through instructions.

The woman was obliged to stay on site until the end of the party. However, according to the court, this does not mean that she herself has to take part in all the activities taking place at the time. The presence of her boss is also irrelevant in this context.

The woman is therefore not entitled to any benefits from statutory accident insurance.