Employee's Scooter Accident After Staying to Socialize at Workplace Not Recognized as Work Accident

The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court ruled that a scooter accident involving an employee who stayed for a social gathering for 3.5 hours after his shift will not be recognized as a work accident. The employee, a shift manager at the bar 'Shenit', was injured on his way home after staying at the workplace for social purposes, and the National Insurance Institute refused to compensate him.

The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court dismissed a lawsuit by an employee seeking recognition of a scooter accident that occurred on his way home as a work accident. The employee, born in 1990, served as a shift manager at the bar and brewery 'Shenit' in Tel Aviv. After finishing his shift at 19:26, he remained at the workplace for about three and a half hours for socializing, drinking, and chatting with colleagues and the employer. Only afterward did he leave for home on a scooter, rode onto a sidewalk, got stuck on a tree, and was injured. The National Insurance Institute rejected his claim, arguing that the prolonged stay severed the connection to work. Judge Irit Harmel accepted the National Insurance Institute's position, ruling that it was a 'real break' that lasted a long time, exceeding the duration of his commute home (about 10-25 minutes). The employee argued that the stay was part of the social atmosphere at work, but the court ruled that it was an independent social activity unrelated to work.