“Do you think part-timers/freelancers are sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps? What can/needs to be done?”
This is the question I posed to my class of final-year Diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Learning (Republic Polytechnic) students. The following is a sampling of the responses submitted. Any names (individual or corporate) have been deleted.
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In Singapore, part-timers and freelancers are not sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps. Many outdoor companies are lacking in manpower to run programmes and sometimes struggle to meet the demands of the clients who wants to send large numbers of participants. This is especially true for clients that come from schools because there is a never ending request for programmes throughout the year. This is where some companies hire anyone who meets the minimum requirements to be an instructor such as having leadership skills, group management and first aid certified. Some companies accept a person as long as he or she is Ministry of Education (MOE) certified in which registration is open to all in the MOE website. When companies follow such practices of employment, part-timers/freelancers may or may not be aware of the legal liabilities involved in running a programme in the outdoor industry. The general procedure is the part-timer/freelancer will be briefed on what his/her role in the programme few days before. Sometimes companies do not have the time to assess whether their competency level is appropriate for the role given, let alone provide training and check whether they know the legal liabilities involved.
The minimum thing to be done for companies who follow such practices of employment is for them to provide a printed copy of legal liabilities for the specific role given to them. Employers must ensure that they read, understood and acknowledged what was said in the paper by signing it. In my opinion it is unprofessional to hire possibly inexperienced instructors to run programmes. I believe this goes against organisational excellence under the OLAE’s Association’s Code of Ethics and Conduct which is to refrain from business practices that are unprofessional or brings disrepute to the association (OLAE, 2016).
The minimum thing to be done for companies who follow such practices of employment is for them to provide a printed copy of legal liabilities for the specific role given to them. Employers must ensure that they read, understood and acknowledged what was said in the paper by signing it. In my opinion it is unprofessional to hire possibly inexperienced instructors to run programmes. I believe this goes against organisational excellence under the OLAE’s Association’s Code of Ethics and Conduct which is to refrain from business practices that are unprofessional or brings disrepute to the association (OLAE, 2016).
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In my personal opinion, I feel that part-timers/freelancers are not sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps. This is because, the current situation of getting a part-timer to work for camps are as easy as introducing such available programmes to your peers whom may or may not have any experience in leading a group. All they know is that they have to come by on the programme days and try or execute the required roles and responsibilities and then receive their money at the end of each program.
As a part-timer myself, I have to admit that I myself did not know the standard of care to deliver and have as well as the reasonable care for different centres. Due to the differences in centre’s practices. Thus, I would transfer the learning I got from my IIP at Australia and execute programs as similarly as I would in Australia. Which simply shows how much part timers and freelancers in Singapore know their legal liabilities and duties.
However, they do usually held an optional “training day” a day before the program. Which consist of camp in-charge running through the basic activities that the part-timers will be doing during the program. Nevertheless trainings are usually just scraps off the tip of an iceberg and they do not cover the SOPs in-depth with us too. Thus, may lead to breaches in SOPs which could have been a legal liability issue for the instructors. As one of the way to ensure that there is no act of negligence is by adhering closely to the recommended safety and briefings mentioned in SOPs.
Therefore, what can be done to improve the situations is by firstly, making the “training day” compulsory for new and inexperience part-timers/freelancers. Thus, ensure that the training day does cover up the SOPs of the company. Secondly, would be part-timers themselves having an insurance policy especially when working in such industry. Thirdly, state clear standard of care and reasonable care for the part-timers so that each duty of care held responsible for is being handled professionally. And finally as for the camp companies themselves, they should prepare a contract, health declaration form for the part timers and inform them about the risks involved for such program and roles too.
======================
Part-timers and freelancers are not entirely aware of their legal liabilities in camps. Honestly, I haven’t worked in any camp company before prior to my working experiences. However, I wasn’t entirely aware of the legal liabilities as well during my internship at [name deleted]. I was sure that there was some liability issue that I have to keep a look out.
For instance, the instructors have to keep a look out for a participant who have anxiety issue during a high element activity. The instructor might be held responsible if there’s an incident that happen to the participant. Therefore, I was no different from part- timers/freelancers but with developing outdoor knowledge and skills. The knowledge of legal liabilities wasn’t enough.
Staff training could be provided to ensure that the part-timers are aware of the legal liabilities that are bound in the organization. The training should provide a booklet in regards to the legal liabilities for the part-timers and it should be taken seriously. Through the staff training, the part- timers/freelancers’ knowledge will be widened in which they will be prudent with their actions. As a result, the operations will be smooth as the SOP will be taken seriously.
For instance, I heard [name deleted] sharing after class just now whereby a part-timer let her participants get on the high wall without any spotters. There were only two participants who pushed the other participant up in order to get to the high wall. However, the SOP at [name deleted] must have stated that pax must be spotted at all times when attempting to climb the high wall.
However, it is understandable that staff training could be costly for the company to invest in the part- timers especially when the part-timers/freelancers does not show commitment to their work. Therefore, the full-timers could conduct it instead to reduce cost. The liabilities could be printed out as well and be placed in the office if staff need to refer to it.
======================
In my opinion, I don’t think that most part- timers/freelancers are sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps as most of the time, part- timers and freelancers are just students who attend camps for fast money. Having said that, they may be aware of the dangers that may happen during camps. However, they may not be fully aware of their responsibility if anything happens to a participant. Part-timers and freelancers would know that they are obligated to take care of the participants but what they do not know is the four kinds of liability; contractual, criminal, human rights, and tort that may happen in camps as before joining the company they are only asked to join a basic instructor course which does not cover on the legal liabilities.
What should be done so that this part- timers/freelancers are aware of their legal liabilities is besides going for the basic instructor course, they should also go for a course which talks about the legal liabilities that they are responsible for in camps. If they go for this course, they would then be aware of what kind of responsibility they have for the participants in camps.
======================
No, I do not think that part-timers/freelancers are sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities. I have done quite an amount of freelancing to earn extra cash, one such experience was during peak period when the company need a lot of manpower to run camps. As a new freelancer to the company, the company required all instructors to gather on day 0 to be briefed about the camp. The briefing consist of flow of matrix, conduct of activities and belaying. However, they do not brief about legal liabilities as freelancers are not bound by contract. They are solely focus about the camp’s stuff.
There are a few things that can/need to be done, such as briefing the freelancers about liabilities issues, giving them proper training before conducting of camp.
Another method is not rely on freelancers and take smaller participant program or break the cohort into 2 or more runs. This will allow a more quality and controlled program.
Another method is make them sign a liability form after learning about legal liabilities issue to ensure that they know the risk when they work.
======================
After consulting my classmates, I found out that part-timers/freelancers who have no prior experience are able to fulfill the role of a group instructor. I believe that an instructor’s legal liability is to ensure the safety of participants in accordance to the company’s standard operation procedures (SOP). My classmates also informed me that they have never read the company’s SOP for each activity before conducting a session. This shows that they are unaware of the legal liabilities in camps as they are not qualified to execute an activity safely, which is the bare minimum for an outdoor leader.
Safety is the number one priority for every outdoor leader. The risks involved in adventure education can be mitigated through clear rules and directions conveyed through the instructor. If the instructor is unaware of these risks, he/she would be unable to create a safe environment for their participants during any activity. For example, whale watch requires safety briefing points to be covered in order to be executed smoothly. Rules state that there is only one access/exit point, no running, no jumping off, do not hang any limbs outside the platform, etc. If the instructor is unaware of these rules in the SOP, they fail to meet their duty of care for their participants.
Based on my internship experience, we were required to read all the SOPs for each activity before we were allowed to run any activity. I think that in order for the company to transfer that sense of liability to the instructors, they should provide the SOPs for all the activities they will be running throughout the camp so that the instructors would be able to provide an experience that is much closer to the duty of care required for an instructor.
======================
I used to work part-time for a camp company and I must to admit that I am unaware of the legal liabilities in camp. In fact, I am totally unaware except that I know I must take care of the participants’ safety. But I do not actually know the consequence if an incident occurs. The company should have a one day program to inform their instructors the legal liabilities.
======================
Most part-timers/freelancers including myself, I believe are not aware of their legal liabilities in camps. Most of us work in need of money or having the passion of conveying our knowledge with our participants. After today’s lesson, I realise that there is so much more than being a freelancer than just running camps and go back after break camp. Upon today’s lesson, I do realise that there were things I did that was part of the different types of legal liabilities. Before I started working freelance for [name deleted], I remember that I had to sign this form that consisted about 7 pages. I suppose it was about the privacy of the company, do’s and don’ts ad also the legal liability. I didn’t read much through it rather was signing it as I did not felt any importance of that document. I believe other freelancers and part-timers would feel this way too. I suppose that most of us are not sufficiently aware of our legal liabilities.
Legal liabilities include the insurance contract, human rights and tort. Also, vicarious liability is when one party is held accountable for the actions of another. Generally, this relates to an employer's responsibility for actions by an employee when someone is injured or property is damaged because of an act that occurred during the employee's working hours.
What can be done for these individuals like me to be aware of their legal liabilities in camps would be to have an annual or twice a year gathering for the companies to go through with them thoroughly about the legal liabilities. This way, these individuals would be updated and also be more aware about it, not just having that mindset that they are a freelancer and they are not an asset to the company.
======================
No. From my experience and from interacting with the other freelancers in camps, instructors are generally not aware of their legal liabilities in camp. Usually, the freelance trainers are only trained on the programs and facilitation techniques as observed from my time during internship. The lack of information regarding our legal liabilities and duty of care owed to the participants, which upon further review after today's lesson, might lead to future potential problems. An example of this problem would be the higher chance of incidents happening due to instructors not adhering to the standard of care. While part-timers and freelancers all have the general idea that they are in charge of the participants' safety, they might not know the exact implications and the extent of it without having their legal liabilities made known to them. Instructors not behaving and conducting themselves professionally according to the standard of care can result in sloppy quality in the work done which is what often lead to incidents.
What can be done would be making sure the duty of care is made aware to all new instructors during the training sessions. As every new instructor in the industry will go through training in one form or another, including this information in the training would be the most realistic and easily done method of raising awareness on legal liabilities in the outdoor industry.
In my personal opinion, I feel that part-timers/freelancers are not sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps. This is because, the current situation of getting a part-timer to work for camps are as easy as introducing such available programmes to your peers whom may or may not have any experience in leading a group. All they know is that they have to come by on the programme days and try or execute the required roles and responsibilities and then receive their money at the end of each program.
As a part-timer myself, I have to admit that I myself did not know the standard of care to deliver and have as well as the reasonable care for different centres. Due to the differences in centre’s practices. Thus, I would transfer the learning I got from my IIP at Australia and execute programs as similarly as I would in Australia. Which simply shows how much part timers and freelancers in Singapore know their legal liabilities and duties.
However, they do usually held an optional “training day” a day before the program. Which consist of camp in-charge running through the basic activities that the part-timers will be doing during the program. Nevertheless trainings are usually just scraps off the tip of an iceberg and they do not cover the SOPs in-depth with us too. Thus, may lead to breaches in SOPs which could have been a legal liability issue for the instructors. As one of the way to ensure that there is no act of negligence is by adhering closely to the recommended safety and briefings mentioned in SOPs.
Therefore, what can be done to improve the situations is by firstly, making the “training day” compulsory for new and inexperience part-timers/freelancers. Thus, ensure that the training day does cover up the SOPs of the company. Secondly, would be part-timers themselves having an insurance policy especially when working in such industry. Thirdly, state clear standard of care and reasonable care for the part-timers so that each duty of care held responsible for is being handled professionally. And finally as for the camp companies themselves, they should prepare a contract, health declaration form for the part timers and inform them about the risks involved for such program and roles too.
======================
Part-timers and freelancers are not entirely aware of their legal liabilities in camps. Honestly, I haven’t worked in any camp company before prior to my working experiences. However, I wasn’t entirely aware of the legal liabilities as well during my internship at [name deleted]. I was sure that there was some liability issue that I have to keep a look out.
For instance, the instructors have to keep a look out for a participant who have anxiety issue during a high element activity. The instructor might be held responsible if there’s an incident that happen to the participant. Therefore, I was no different from part- timers/freelancers but with developing outdoor knowledge and skills. The knowledge of legal liabilities wasn’t enough.
Staff training could be provided to ensure that the part-timers are aware of the legal liabilities that are bound in the organization. The training should provide a booklet in regards to the legal liabilities for the part-timers and it should be taken seriously. Through the staff training, the part- timers/freelancers’ knowledge will be widened in which they will be prudent with their actions. As a result, the operations will be smooth as the SOP will be taken seriously.
For instance, I heard [name deleted] sharing after class just now whereby a part-timer let her participants get on the high wall without any spotters. There were only two participants who pushed the other participant up in order to get to the high wall. However, the SOP at [name deleted] must have stated that pax must be spotted at all times when attempting to climb the high wall.
However, it is understandable that staff training could be costly for the company to invest in the part- timers especially when the part-timers/freelancers does not show commitment to their work. Therefore, the full-timers could conduct it instead to reduce cost. The liabilities could be printed out as well and be placed in the office if staff need to refer to it.
======================
In my opinion, I don’t think that most part- timers/freelancers are sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities in camps as most of the time, part- timers and freelancers are just students who attend camps for fast money. Having said that, they may be aware of the dangers that may happen during camps. However, they may not be fully aware of their responsibility if anything happens to a participant. Part-timers and freelancers would know that they are obligated to take care of the participants but what they do not know is the four kinds of liability; contractual, criminal, human rights, and tort that may happen in camps as before joining the company they are only asked to join a basic instructor course which does not cover on the legal liabilities.
What should be done so that this part- timers/freelancers are aware of their legal liabilities is besides going for the basic instructor course, they should also go for a course which talks about the legal liabilities that they are responsible for in camps. If they go for this course, they would then be aware of what kind of responsibility they have for the participants in camps.
======================
No, I do not think that part-timers/freelancers are sufficiently aware of their legal liabilities. I have done quite an amount of freelancing to earn extra cash, one such experience was during peak period when the company need a lot of manpower to run camps. As a new freelancer to the company, the company required all instructors to gather on day 0 to be briefed about the camp. The briefing consist of flow of matrix, conduct of activities and belaying. However, they do not brief about legal liabilities as freelancers are not bound by contract. They are solely focus about the camp’s stuff.
There are a few things that can/need to be done, such as briefing the freelancers about liabilities issues, giving them proper training before conducting of camp.
Another method is not rely on freelancers and take smaller participant program or break the cohort into 2 or more runs. This will allow a more quality and controlled program.
Another method is make them sign a liability form after learning about legal liabilities issue to ensure that they know the risk when they work.
======================
After consulting my classmates, I found out that part-timers/freelancers who have no prior experience are able to fulfill the role of a group instructor. I believe that an instructor’s legal liability is to ensure the safety of participants in accordance to the company’s standard operation procedures (SOP). My classmates also informed me that they have never read the company’s SOP for each activity before conducting a session. This shows that they are unaware of the legal liabilities in camps as they are not qualified to execute an activity safely, which is the bare minimum for an outdoor leader.
Safety is the number one priority for every outdoor leader. The risks involved in adventure education can be mitigated through clear rules and directions conveyed through the instructor. If the instructor is unaware of these risks, he/she would be unable to create a safe environment for their participants during any activity. For example, whale watch requires safety briefing points to be covered in order to be executed smoothly. Rules state that there is only one access/exit point, no running, no jumping off, do not hang any limbs outside the platform, etc. If the instructor is unaware of these rules in the SOP, they fail to meet their duty of care for their participants.
Based on my internship experience, we were required to read all the SOPs for each activity before we were allowed to run any activity. I think that in order for the company to transfer that sense of liability to the instructors, they should provide the SOPs for all the activities they will be running throughout the camp so that the instructors would be able to provide an experience that is much closer to the duty of care required for an instructor.
======================
I used to work part-time for a camp company and I must to admit that I am unaware of the legal liabilities in camp. In fact, I am totally unaware except that I know I must take care of the participants’ safety. But I do not actually know the consequence if an incident occurs. The company should have a one day program to inform their instructors the legal liabilities.
======================
Most part-timers/freelancers including myself, I believe are not aware of their legal liabilities in camps. Most of us work in need of money or having the passion of conveying our knowledge with our participants. After today’s lesson, I realise that there is so much more than being a freelancer than just running camps and go back after break camp. Upon today’s lesson, I do realise that there were things I did that was part of the different types of legal liabilities. Before I started working freelance for [name deleted], I remember that I had to sign this form that consisted about 7 pages. I suppose it was about the privacy of the company, do’s and don’ts ad also the legal liability. I didn’t read much through it rather was signing it as I did not felt any importance of that document. I believe other freelancers and part-timers would feel this way too. I suppose that most of us are not sufficiently aware of our legal liabilities.
Legal liabilities include the insurance contract, human rights and tort. Also, vicarious liability is when one party is held accountable for the actions of another. Generally, this relates to an employer's responsibility for actions by an employee when someone is injured or property is damaged because of an act that occurred during the employee's working hours.
What can be done for these individuals like me to be aware of their legal liabilities in camps would be to have an annual or twice a year gathering for the companies to go through with them thoroughly about the legal liabilities. This way, these individuals would be updated and also be more aware about it, not just having that mindset that they are a freelancer and they are not an asset to the company.
======================
No. From my experience and from interacting with the other freelancers in camps, instructors are generally not aware of their legal liabilities in camp. Usually, the freelance trainers are only trained on the programs and facilitation techniques as observed from my time during internship. The lack of information regarding our legal liabilities and duty of care owed to the participants, which upon further review after today's lesson, might lead to future potential problems. An example of this problem would be the higher chance of incidents happening due to instructors not adhering to the standard of care. While part-timers and freelancers all have the general idea that they are in charge of the participants' safety, they might not know the exact implications and the extent of it without having their legal liabilities made known to them. Instructors not behaving and conducting themselves professionally according to the standard of care can result in sloppy quality in the work done which is what often lead to incidents.
What can be done would be making sure the duty of care is made aware to all new instructors during the training sessions. As every new instructor in the industry will go through training in one form or another, including this information in the training would be the most realistic and easily done method of raising awareness on legal liabilities in the outdoor industry.
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