In a ruling with significant implications for labor relations, the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court has overturned a decision by the National Insurance Institute (NII), determining that an injury sustained by an employee during a social sports event shall be recognized as a work-related injury. The case involves a development manager at Toga Networks, the Israeli R&D center for Huawei, who was injured during a weekly company soccer match. Following the injury, which involved a torn knee and subsequent surgery, the employee applied for injury benefits from the NII, only to be rejected. According to the NII’s position as reported by ICE, since the match took place outside official working hours and participation was voluntary, the requisite nexus for a workplace accident did not exist. The employee appealed this decision to the Regional Labor Court.
In the statement of claim, the employee argued that the employer had active and substantive involvement in organizing the games. The employee contended that the company initiated the activity, encouraged staff to participate, distributed regular updates via corporate email, and even financed the rental of the field at Sportech Hod Hasharon. The employee claimed the activity was viewed as an essential tool for team building across departments, and in light of the flexible work model common in high-tech, it was perceived as part of the work experience. Judge Osnat Rubovitch-Barak, who presided over the case, accepted the employee's position by a majority vote. The judgment concluded that given the explicit company funding and the managerial interest in fostering connections between departments, the sports match should be considered 'activity ancillary to work.' The court held that this level of involvement justifies recognizing the injury as having occurred during and because of work. Despite a minority opinion that expressed concerns regarding an overextension of work-time definitions, the ruling provides a significant signal to employers in Israel. The decision emphasizes that social, sports, and team-building events funded and managed by an employer may carry direct legal consequences regarding employer liability and employee social rights. For employees, this represents a significant reinforcement in cases where rights were previously denied following injuries sustained during company events.