Teacher’s Badminton Injury Not Considered a Work Accident: Administrative Judge

The accident occurred on January 30, 2020. The teacher suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and partial tear of the internal collateral ligament of the right knee during a badminton game played at Cégep de Jonquière, an injury for which he had to be operated in October 2021.

According to the worker, he has a schedule of 32.5 hours per week, including 12 hours of classroom instruction, in addition to periods of availability for students, committees, departmental life and other related tasks. . He must therefore be available for his employer between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. during the week, according to the collective agreement, and he says “eat when he can” since the course schedule varies, can we read in the decision of the administrative judge Jean-François Lebel. However, still according to the convention, the teacher has an hour and a half for dinner.

“The evidence shows that the event occurred during the worker’s lunch break, a period during which he was in control of his time. […] The fact that the worker must be on standby for the employer between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. is not relevant, or determinative, since the collective agreement allows the worker to have a lunch break from 1 hour 30 minutes to every day, during which time he is no longer deemed to be on standby for the employer. He could, for example, dine out, practice a sport, as in this case, or do any other activity of his choice,” wrote the judge in his decision rendered on December 15.

The latter adds that the worker is free to manage his time according to his wishes and that his choice to practice badminton was made “without any constraint or management on the part of the employer”.

The event occurred on a Thursday, after the teacher had given a lesson. The judge therefore considers that he was not acting within the scope of his duties.

“In this case, he temporarily leaves the professional sphere at the end of the course, around noon, which he teaches on Thursday. Thereafter, he integrates the personal sphere when he practices badminton and he returns to the professional sphere at the end of this activity when he comes to the French center to help students during a recovery period. »

Moreover, even if the accident occurred in a gymnasium at the Cégep de Jonquière, the Administrative Labor Tribunal ruled that it was not the “usual physical place where a French teacher carries out his work, such as a classroom, a work office or a meeting room”.

In his defence, the teacher also claimed that the badminton activity was part of a program offered by the Cégep de Jonquière.

“The worker specifies that the practice of badminton stems from the comprehensive health program set up by the employer. Before each semester begins, he receives by e-mail a booklet prepared by the employer in which are listed several activities offered to Cégep staff members, some paid and others free, such as badminton. […] This activity is beneficial given his job, which he describes as “stressful”. It allows him to decompress and evacuate stress. He feels energized,” the document reads.

This argument was not accepted, since his workstation does not require a particular good physical condition to carry out specific tasks.

This global health program is rather a “privilege offered to employees which is part of a social objective […] and the positive consequences for the worker […] are more personal than professional.

Initially, the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) accepted the worker’s claim on March 26, 2020. An administrative review presented on December 11, 2020, however, reversed this claim. decision, since the CNESST had concluded that it was not a work accident.

2023-01-11 08:00:00
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