Staff Parties at Christmas: beware!
Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older that the years seem to fly by or perhaps it’s because the shops get Christmas products on the shelves earlier each year, whatever the reason it serves as a reminder that at Christmas we want to share goodwill to all men, but have to remember to do it responsibly.
I should also state, right at the start, that I am not against Christmas parties or any other office party for that matter I enjoy a party as much as the next person and a celebration at Christmas is a great tradition.
However, with so much legislation it’s a wonder that Christmas parties ever happen these days and at this time of year I’m often asked questions like “will having a Christmas party offend the ‘religious belief’ regulations or “am I responsible if a member of staff hurts themselves when they are drunk”. In this article I will attempt to debunk some of the myths and offer, what is hopefully, some useful advice for the season.
It is important to consider how any
staff will get home from the Christmas party, perhaps organise a mini bus or
find ‘designated drivers’, at the very least make sure taxis are available from
the venue. This is surely common sense, but we have all seen the adverts and
statistics regarding drunk driving during the festive season. Consider the
situation of Linda Leigh Hunt’s employers in
You must make sure any party is inclusive and that non-Christians are considered. These days the office Christmas party might seem to have little to do with religion in the traditional sense, but sensitivity may be required and the party must be open to everyone. Whatever you do don’t follow the ridiculous stance that a primary school did when they excluded a child from the Christmas party because his parents had asked for him to be excused from RE lessons because they did not believe in god.
If something goes wrong, who is responsible? The answer to this one is almost definitely the employer, no matter where the party is held it will be seen to be an extension of the workplace and all the usual rules will apply. The employer will be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their staff and all employees should be gently warned that behaviour that would not be tolerated at work will not be acceptable at a party. This may apply particularly to rules on sexual harassment which were given a far wider scope by legislation a couple of years ago.
Claims for harassment abound
after the office party and the most famous, or infamous, has to be the case of
Elizabeth Weston who managed to win a huge out of court settlement, £500,000,
after taking her employers Merrill Lynch to the Employment Tribunal. Mrs Weston
was at a Christmas lunch in a central
You may have a defence against problems that do occur if you have been proactive in your diversity training and have written polices on discrimination, harassment and bullying. Make sure all employees are conversant with health and safety policies, but remember that having the policies is not much use unless your staff are aware of them and training has taken place. Make sure that you have a specialist like Premier Legal write your policies and procedures and provide suitable training.
If all of this hasn’t put you off and you go ahead with an office Christmas party, remember to make someone responsible for overseeing the event and try to make sure that everything has been risk assessed and if the stories are anything to go by it may make sense to lock the photocopier away – not so much because of the pictures of bare behinds that they may produce, but to save the glass getting cracked or broken and some unlucky person having to pull shards of glass from a colleagues backside.
Barrister, Premier Legal LLP