Christmas Party Season: Striking the Balance

The festive period is once again upon us and many businesses and organisations will be carefully considering what they can do to ensure staff have an opportunity to celebrate.

Employers must remember that they have a duty of care to employees when it comes to Christmas parties as, even though they are often held outside of office hours and away from work premises, legally they are regarded as extensions of office life.

Because of this, employers should bear in mind the potential threat to members of staff, when what seems like banter or harmless fun can quickly transform into harassment or even violence.

If complaints are made over issues such as discrimination or harassment and employers do not conduct full investigations or issue formal warnings to staff stepping seriously out of line, they could easily find themselves on the wrong end of expensive employment tribunal decisions with potentially huge payouts, just as if the misconduct had happened at work.

Employers could fall foul of equality laws as early as the party planning stage. Depending on the event of choice, it could be seen as a deliberate exclusion of older workers, possibly giving rise to age discrimination risks. Also events focused solely around drinking alcohol may cause some unease for those whose religious faith does not permit such actions.

The important thing is to be sensible in the approach to Christmas. Staff should be allowed to have fun and celebrate the festive period, but employers need to ensure they take their duty of care seriously. This includes making sure people get home safely, outlining what is acceptable conduct and ensuring that it is made clear that drink-driving will not be tolerated.

Employers need to remember their responsibilities to all members of staff do not end at 5pm.