MOGOENG J risk for his own ends he is under a duty to ensure that no one is injured by the servant‘s improper conduct or negligence in carrying on his work and that the mere giving by him of directions or orders to his servant is not a sufficient performance of that duty. It follows that if the servant‘s acts in doing his master‘s work or his activities incidental to or connected with it are carried out in a negligent or improper manner so as to cause harm to a third party the master is responsible for that harm.‖29 [45] Central to this passage is the proposition that employees are extensions of their employers. This is indeed so because, figuratively, employees are the hands through which employers do their work. Employers could therefore be held to have created a risk of harm to others should their employees prove to be inefficient or untrustworthy. That potential risk imposes an obligation on employers to ensure that the employees they hold out as the hands through which they would serve or do business with others, would not do the opposite of what they are instructed and obliged to do. Should they, however, act inconsistently with the employers‘ core business, some link between the employers‘ business and the delictual conduct must be established before the employers may be held vicariously liable. [46] A positive development of common law vicarious liability in deviation cases that accords with the preceding observations occurred in Minister of Police v Rabie.30 This was a claim for damages arising from the wrongful arrest, detention and assault of the plaintiff. The arrest was effected by a mechanic employed by the police service, in pursuit of his personal interests. At the time of the arrest, he was not wearing police uniform and he was off duty. He identified himself as a policeman to 29 Feldman above n 27 at 741. 30 1986 (1) SA 117 (A) (Rabie). Compare Minister of Law and Order v Ngobo 1992 (4) SA 822 (A) (Ngobo). 17