One of our US-invested clients recently faced a challenging
claim from an employee who had been working from home under an
approved remote-working arrangement. During normal working hours
the employee took a short break, entered his kitchen, and suffered
a serious injury while preparing lunch. He subsequently applied for
work-related injury recognition, arguing that the accident occurred
during working hours while working from home, and that the home
should be treated as an extension of the workplace.
For the employer, the case raised immediate concerns: Does
any injury at home during working hours now automatically qualify
as a work injury? Has the legal threshold shifted in favour of
employees?