Every year around this time there are warnings to employers about the pitfalls of Christmas parties.
Research suggests that:
- 1 in 2 parties end up with colleagues fighting
- 1 in 3 with incidents of sexual harassment
- 1 in 5 with accidents involving employees
- 3 out of 4 four bosses said that a member of staff had threatened to take a case to an employment tribunal following bad behaviour at a Christmas party
- 1 in 3 people say they have had drunken sex at their office Christmas party
- 64% said this was just a one-night wonder that was awkward at work afterwards
- Over half have passionately kissed the boss or a colleague at the annual do
What do we do? Cancel Christmas? Introduce an American Style 'Love Contract'?
No to both. Common sense can prevail by following a few straightforward guidelines before the party starts.
- Issue guidelines on how to behave: You need to clarify what type of behaviour is unacceptable, such as harassment and fighting. Your employees should understand that any Christmas party organised for work colleagues is technically a work activity and, as such, normal disciplinary procedures will apply if behaviour gets out of hand.
- Define Secret Santa's sack: Tongue-in-cheek gifts such as a bottle of hair dye or a condom could provide grounds for claims for harassment or sexual or religious discrimination if an employee found the gift offensive and wished to pursue a harassment case. You need to define what an acceptable gift is and what it is not.
- Identify potential hazards: It's a work-related activity, so you must carry out a risk assessment of the venue to identify potential hazards. When you do this remember to take into account of:
- the potential for slips and trips due to party footwear and intake of alcohol
- the safety of people going home after the event
- any potential conflict between employees so that table plans can be organised accordingly.
- Invite husbands, wives... and life-partners: If you're going to invite employees' partners to your party make sure that you don't restrict this to husbands and wives. Extend the invitation to partners of the opposite and same sex, to avoid potential sexual orientation discrimination claims.
- Limit the Christmas spirit: If you've chosen to supply alcohol at your party, or you've encouraged its consumption by putting money behind the bar, you may be deemed legally responsible for the welfare of the employee if they suffer from a drink related incident, even if it occurs outside the party. You can limit your liability by giving your employees a limited number of 'free drinks' tickets of holding your party in an external venue which gives the venue management some of the responsibility for declining to serve anyone who's had a little too much.
- Avoid 'tipple tattle': At all costs avoid discussing promotion, salary, career prospects or other matters more appropriately discussed in a formal appraisal or in private with employees who may use the party situation to broach these.
- Bin the mistletoe: The Christmas party is a heady combination of drink and lowered inhibitions, the perfect environment for a festive fling. A brief encounter under the mistletoe can cause embarrassment at work the day after, or worse still, leave you with allegations of sexual harassment to deal with.
- Don't poison your staff: If you're putting on food it goes without saying it must be safe to eat. Buffets organised by staff members present a particularly high risk of food poisoning from foods which are left sitting in the office all day ready for the festivities. Food should not be left out at room temperature for more than 90 minutes and should be stored below 5°C. Consider booking an external venue, engaging caterers of attending an organised party night to reduce your liability.
- Beware of drink driving: As the employer you are responsible for your employees' actions after consuming the alcohol you've provided. Include advice in your behavioural guidelines about not driving after consuming alcohol. Consider ending the party before public transport stops, make the phone numbers for local taxi firms available or even hire a mini bus to demonstrate that you have taken reasonable steps to minimise this risk.
- Expect less the morning after: A contract exists between the employee and employer that they will be in a fit state to carry out the work they are being paid to do. Decide how lenient you will be towards staff coming to work the worse the wear for drink, arriving late, or even not at all, the day after the party and make sure your employees know this before the party. The safety of employees is paramount, especially if they need to drive or operate machinery and are not fully sober. Consider:
- holding the party at the end of the working week
- advising employees beforehand not to drink too much alcohol
- removing the risk to safety by giving them alternative work until they're fit to resume their normal tasks.
The key to any successful party is to put some thought into it. What you end up with may not be to everyone's taste but you will have limited your liability as an employer.
For more information on how to deal practically with the challenges of employing people visit our website at www.metishr.co.uk.
