End of Year Events

Karen Langenmaier, the BCTF Health and Safety Officer sent out this reminder on end of year events. It seemed appropriate to reproduce it here.

Hi all, I’ve had a few questions regarding WCB coverage in the event that a teacher is injured during a sports day or extra-curricular lunch time activity that are so popular at this time of year.

The short answer is "yes" teachers are covered.

However, the long answer is more important:

1. the event must be a school organized and sanctioned event.

2. the administrator must know and approve of the event.

3. there should be some paper work that confirms the above.

The reason for this is that in the event a teacher is injured, WCB has in the past tried to deny claims saying that the activity was on the teacher's own time and therefore not part of their work.  We know that extra-curricular, while not part of our "educational" work, is still part of an historically accepted practice that IS part of our work.  Just to make sure that all areas are covered however, make sure that the administrator knows of all the teachers taking part and sanctions the event.

Having said all this, the best advice we can offer is: remember how old you are and that even though that competitive fun edge comes out, your body won't respond as well as the students'. Don't push your physical limitations.  Prevention is way better than compensation!

Yours in health and safety,

Karen Langenmaier