Ski instructor recourse after a teaching error: how the Dienstnehmerhaftpflichtgesetz assesses fault, mitigation, training and working conditions between instructor and ski school.
Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt
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If an employed ski instructor causes loss during a lesson, the ski school cannot simply pass the full amount on to the instructor. The Dienstnehmerhaftpflichtgesetz requires an assessment of fault and equity. For minor negligence, the court may reduce or waive compensation. An excusable error excludes the employee liability covered by section 2 DHG.
Recourse after payment to an injured customer has additional requirements. The ski school must notify the employee of the claim and give third-party notice if an action is brought. Only then can the possible recourse under section 4 DHG be assessed in context.
This article addresses internal employment liability between a ski school and an employed instructor. The customer claim against the ski school, general ski-school duties and the liability of an independent trainer are separate questions.
Classify the working model, loss, procedure and degree of fault. The assessment does not replace a case review.
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The DHG requires an employment relationship and services performed for the employer.
For a freelance trainer or own business, the Dienstnehmerhaftpflichtgesetz does not automatically apply. The contract, actual integration, instructions and service must be assessed before an employment-liability claim is classified.
The actual circumstances matter. Collect the employment agreement, rosters, instructions, payment records and documents describing how the lessons were organised. Only then can the relevance of the DHG be assessed.
A complaint alone does not establish compensable loss. The ski school should document the concrete loss, payment to a customer or necessary repair. The instructor needs the full allegation and the timeline of the lesson.
If records on group size, slope choice, instructions, weather, equipment or training are missing, the fault assessment remains incomplete. Preserve existing information and do not add assumptions after the event.
If the ski school compensated an injured customer by agreement with the instructor or under a final judgment, section 4 DHG may support recourse. The equitable reduction under section 2(2) DHG remains relevant. Review payment, procedural participation and the specific teaching error together.
For a customer claim, the ski school must notify the employee without delay and give third-party notice if an action is brought. If these records are missing, reconstruct the sequence from the claim, correspondence, settlement and payment record. The legal result depends on the specific objections and loss.
An employee is not liable for an excusable error under section 2(3) DHG. The classification depends on the sequence, available reaction time and working conditions. It cannot be inferred from the accident result alone.
For minor negligence, the court may reduce or waive compensation under section 2 DHG on equitable grounds. Relevant factors include responsibility, pay, training, working conditions and the typical risk of damage in the activity.
For a serious allegation or conflicting accounts, the loss amount is only one part of the review. Assess the specific error, foreseeable risk, lesson organisation, training and whether the ski school itself contributed to the event.
The DHG addresses an employee who causes loss to the employer through an error while performing services. The working model therefore comes first. An employed ski instructor who teaches according to the ski school roster, instructions and organisation is typically within the situation that must be assessed.
The label in the contract is not decisive on its own. Actual integration, a personal duty to work and instructions can matter even where the arrangement is called freelance work. Conversely, working at a ski resort alone does not create an employment relationship.
This article concerns the internal relationship. A customer may pursue claims against the ski school or other responsible parties under the applicable rules. That does not by itself mean that the instructor must reimburse the ski school in full.
For the ski school’s own loss, section 2 DHG first asks whether the employee caused the loss through an error while performing the service. The result of the lesson, such as an accident or damaged equipment, does not answer that question on its own. The specific sequence and allegation matter.
The court may reduce compensation on equitable grounds. For minor negligence, compensation may also be waived in full. An excusable error excludes employee liability under section 2(3) DHG.
The review therefore needs the cause, available reaction, instructions and working conditions. A blanket deduction from pay does not replace this assessment. Further employment-law rules may also affect which steps are permitted in the employment relationship.
If a customer claims against the ski school because of an instructor’s error and the ski school pays, section 4 DHG governs possible recourse. It requires payment with the employee’s agreement or under a final judgment. The recourse can cover the loss and necessary litigation and enforcement costs, but remains subject to the reduction under section 2 DHG.
The ski school must notify the employee without delay and give third-party notice if an action is brought. Failure to give third-party notice does not automatically remove the recourse claim. The employee may, however, raise objections against the third party that could have changed the result if they had been properly used.
Section 3 DHG addresses the reverse situation. If the employee pays the injured customer with the ski school’s agreement or under a final judgment, the employee may seek reimbursement from the employer under the statutory conditions. Notice, third-party notice, fault and equity must then also be examined.
In addition to the degree of fault, section 2(2) DHG names five factors. The court considers the responsibility connected with the activity, whether the risk was reflected in pay, the employee’s training, the conditions under which the service was performed and whether the activity carries a difficult-to-avoid risk of damage.
For a ski instructor, group size, slope, visibility and weather, equipment, prescribed procedures and available reaction time may provide relevant facts. These examples are not a statutory checklist. They show which facts can give the mitigation assessment substance.
Training has two sides. Documented qualifications may support the level of care that could be expected. Missing briefing, unclear responsibilities or an assignment beyond known skills may affect the assessment of working conditions and fault.
The ski school should record the instructor’s training, the groups and levels assigned and the safety instructions that applied. The roster, group size, slope, weather and special instructions on the day are also relevant.
The instructor should preserve training certificates, briefings, messages, rosters and contemporaneous notes about the lesson. A factual chronology matters. Later assumptions about cause or a blanket adoption of another person’s wording can make the review more difficult.
Working conditions can affect whether an error was avoidable and how serious the fault was. The records should therefore describe what happened. They do not replace the court’s equitable decision, but they create a reliable basis for it.
After a teaching error, the ski school and instructor should each record the event from their own perspective. Relevant material includes the incident report, course and assignment data, witness details, messages, photographs, slope information and documents on injury or property loss.
For recourse after payment to a customer, also preserve the claim letter, action, third-party notice, settlement or judgment and payment record. Each payment should be allocated to a specific loss item. Litigation and enforcement costs should be documented separately.
The existing article on ski instructor and ski school liability in an adult course addresses the customer perspective in the teaching contract. That distinction separates the primary customer claim from the internal liability discussed here. For private unpaid help, compare the free private instruction case.
The starting point determines which DHG provision is read first.
| The ski school’s own loss | Recourse after payment to a customer |
|---|---|
| Section 2 DHG is the starting point. | Section 4 DHG adds the rules for recourse. |
| Fault and equity determine the obligation. | Payment, notice, third-party notice and section 2 DHG must be assessed together. |
| Training and working conditions shape mitigation. | The customer claim and amounts paid must be established. |
| An excusable error excludes liability. | An excusable error also excludes recourse. |
The result depends on employment status, fault and evidence.
Recourse is not automatic full liability. For an employed ski instructor, employment status, fault, responsibility, pay, training and working conditions must be assessed. After customer payment, notice and third-party notice also matter.
That does not follow automatically from the accident. Section 2 DHG makes fault and equity decisive. The court may reduce compensation or waive it for minor negligence.
Section 4 DHG may support recourse if the ski school paid with the employee’s agreement or under a final judgment. The mitigation rules of section 2 DHG remain applicable.
The degree of training is one of the factors listed in section 2(2) DHG. Briefing, assignment and working conditions can also show what level of care could be expected in the situation.
An employee is not liable for an excusable error under section 2(3) DHG. The classification depends on the sequence and available reaction options.
Under section 3 DHG, the employee must notify the employer without delay and give third-party notice if an action is brought. Records on the claim, sequence and payment should be preserved.
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