A social court in Munich, Germany, has ruled that an employee who slipped on spilled massage oil during working hours is not entitled to coverage under the statutory accident insurance scheme. The employee was on the way to a massage session in the company’s treatment room, slipped, and was injured. The case raises questions about the insurance status of corporate wellness activities, an issue that is coming up increasingly often as employers offer massage, yoga, and other health programs.
What happened
The incident occurred as the employee was heading to an employer-facilitated massage treatment, held in a dedicated room on the company premises. Massage oil had spilled on the floor, causing the employee to slip and sustain an injury. The employee subsequently filed a claim with the statutory accident insurer, which took the view that it provided no coverage. The case went before the Munich Social Court (Sozialgericht München), which issued its ruling on July 22, 2026, under case number S 9 U 498/25. The ruling is not yet final; an appeal is possible.
The court’s ruling
The court rejected the claim on three grounds. First, participation in the massage was voluntary rather than a contractual obligation, meaning there was insufficient connection to the insured occupational duties. Second, the court emphasized that the scope of accident insurance coverage does not depend on who bears the cost, but on the specific circumstances of the individual case; the fact that the employer paid for the massage does not, in itself, establish insurance coverage. Third, this was not a commuting accident, since the massage room was located on the company premises itself. In doing so, the Munich Social Court aligned itself with a 2022 ruling by the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht), Germany’s highest social court. That ruling held that health measures offered by an employer are not automatically covered by occupational accident insurance, unless they constitute communal activities that foster workplace cohesion, such as company sports. According to the court, individual wellness measures such as massage primarily serve private interests, in contrast to organized, communal activities.
Implications for employers
For EHS professionals, this ruling is relevant because corporate wellness programs, including massage, fitness, and relaxation facilities, have grown sharply in popularity in recent years as part of employee benefits and preventive health policy. This case illustrates that the insurance status of such individual amenities can be legally uncertain, even when the employer bears the cost and the activity takes place on company premises. This may have implications for how organizations design, communicate, and insure such programs, for example through supplementary corporate liability or accident policies. For employers and EHS departments outside Germany, the precise legal outcome naturally depends on the national social insurance system, but the underlying question, namely the extent to which voluntary, individual health activities fall under work-related accident coverage, is universally recognizable. Organizations offering wellness facilities are advised to clarify the insurance status of participation in advance, so that employees are not caught off guard in the event of an accident.
Source: Rechtsprechung: Massage im Betrieb – kein Versicherungsschutz bei Sturz, September 9, 2026, https://www.haufe.de/arbeitsschutz/gesundheit-umwelt/massage-im-betrieb-kein-versicherungsschutz-bei-sturz_94_697436.html
