Worker successfully claims compo after slipping in shower

In June 2015, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) ruled worker Robert Ziebarth’s back injury from a hard fall was fully compensable.  The circumstances of injury were somewhat unusual in that the worker had been in his shower at home when he slipped trying to answer a call from his employer.

Mr Ziebarth, a fleet service manager with Blenners Transport in Cairns, was on-call in March 2013, and said he felt obligated to respond to the telephone call promptly in case it involved an urgent breakdown or maintenance job.

In order to make a successful claim, it was necessary for Mr Ziebarth to establish that his injury arose out of or in the course of his employment, and that his employment was a significant contributing factor to the injury.

The QIRC confirmed that the test for whether or not Mr Ziebarth’s injury arose in the course of his employment was based on two main considerations:

• What activity was being engaged in at the time of the activity, and;
• Whether the employer induced or encouraged the worker to engage in that activity.

The activity was the answering of Mr Ziebarth’s work mobile. Looking to his contract of employment, the QIRC was also satisfied that he was expected to make himself available when on call from time to time, and so he was indeed encouraged to engage in that activity.

Medical evidence showed that the injury was the cause of the fall, confirming that his employment was a significant contributing factor in this instant.

This case once again highlights the challenges faced by employers in terms of having employees work from home and be on call.   This is a common scenario in today’s work environment but it much be managed appropriately otherwise unrealistic expectations that employees be constantly contactable can cause stress, fatigue and burnout and other physical injuries and psychological disorders.

It is essential that businesses carefully consider matters such as working from home, being on call and mobile phone use from a risk management perspective in order to prevent injury.