Workers of the world, you have nothing to lose but your white knuckles. A change in the law is about to kill off extreme office team-building activities such as quad-bike racing and clay-pigeon shooting and replace them with more sedate pursuits – such as cookery classes.

Employees who can think of nothing worse than a weekend of bungee jumping with the boss can give thanks to the new Corporate Manslaughter Act.

The legislation, designed to clamp down on the worst cases of corporate negligence, is a blow to the burgeoning events industry – which is estimated to be worth more than £10 billion this year.

From April 6, companies can be charged with manslaughter should, say, someone from accounts break their neck while paintballing in the New Forest. Under existing health and safety laws, a case can be brought only if a “directing mind” (an individual) within a company is alleged to have acted improperly. Often, cases are not brought because it is too difficult to prove who is in charge, especially with large companies, lawyers say.

Under the new legislation, approved by the Lords in July, a company found guilty of contributing to a fatal accident will face penalties, including a potentially unlimited fine.

Deaths on the corporate bonding circuit are rare, but the new legislation has sent shivers through those responsible for organising the office day out.

THA Group, one of the country’s largest corporate event managers, recently decided to stop offering whitewater rafting, hot-air ballooning and bungee jumping trips. Several blue-chip companies, including Accenture, the management consulting giant, and IBM, have blacklisted anything that is potentially dangerous. That means no go-karts and certainly no sky-diving.

Even that stalwart of corporate life, the golf day, could potentially be hit – if it is judged that wayward strokes pose a risk to onlookers.

Experts are advising that companies which want to stay on the right side of the new law may have to carry out risk assessments for every activity they offer – not only for participants but also for local residents and passers-by.

“Companies need to be looking and, yes, they should be worried,” Nasar Farooq, of Croner Consulting, a health and safety specialist, said. “They have to be aware that they have a primary duty of care to their employees.”

The days are long gone when workers would settle for cakes and ale as tokens of the boss’s appreciation. The professional events organisers that put together corporate outings are now racking their brains for alternative outings.

“There has been a trend in recent years for companies to go for physically demanding activities to promote team-building,” an industry insider said. “Now we’re scrabbling around looking for things that will be mentally challenging.”

So out go waterskiing and anything involving an internal combustion engine. In their place, alpha-male high-flyers will be offered painting lessons (where each sub-team paints a section of a work that comes together at the end) and collective drumming sessions (particularly popular at the moment, apparently).

Those workers wondering if the change in the law leaves room for a fine wine-tasting jolly – instead of, perhaps, haring around Brands Hatch in a supercar – may want to reach for a stiff drink now. Lawyers say that employers determined to keep on the right side of the law may have also to police their employees’ alcohol intake – no easy task given just how jolly some office jollies can be.

“The Act does raise some interesting questions,” Richard Blann, a senior associate with Norton Rose, a City law firm, said.

“How on Earth do you police how much an individual drinks?” The room for informed consent is also narrow.

“Getting an employee to sign a waiver of responsibility offers no defence under the Act,” Mr Blann added.

— The number of workers suffering from repetitive strain injuries (RSI) is less than one third of estimates, a new study suggests. Professor Keith Palmer, of Southampton University, calculated that arm-straining activities are responsible for only 14 per cent of arm pain. Previous surveys have exaggerated the issue by asking workers if they believe their disability is linked to their job.

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