It's that time of year again when employers want to reward their employees for a good year of hard work and throw a company Christmas party. The issues most employers face are combating alcohol consumption at work, combating "sickies" due to hangovers or alcohol induced over-friendliness.
Employers can be held vicariously liable for employee's actions at a work arranged function, even if it is not on company property, and they must therefore take steps to minimise the risks of a claim against them.
Health and Safety
Employers should remind employees of the Health and Safety implications of the consumption of alcohol immediately before entering work or on the work premises. If an employer allows employees to consume alcohol at work, or to return to work after drinking remember that as an employer you still owe them a duty of care and must ensure that you behave reasonably in safeguarding employees from foreseeable health and safety risks.
Unauthorised Absence
In cases of unauthorised absences employers should investigate as far as possible the reasons for employee's absence before any assumptions are made. The employee may have had an accident or genuinely ill rather than at home with a hangover from a Christmas celebration.
It is important to act consistently and to treat all employees the same. Don't use the fact that an employee has taken an illicit 'sickie' or has had a drink at lunchtime as an excuse to dismiss him, when normally such behaviour is overlooked.
It must be remembered that drinking heavily out of office hours will not in itself constitute misconduct; however, if it impacts on the employee's ability to do his or her job, you may be able to treat it as misconduct and deal with it appropriately.
When dealing with any misconduct, the company disciplinary procedure should always be followed, to purchase one.
Sexual Harassment
It can happen that employees get more friendly than they normally would at a Christmas party, especially if alcohol is included in the mix. Employers need to take extra care to prevent any form of harassment at a Christmas party because a party organised by the employer is likely to be seen as an extension of the workplace, even if it is held off site.
If an employee makes an advance on another employee, regardless of the gender of either of these employees, it may be seen as sexual harassment. Employers need to be aware that advances by member of the same sex are now also covered by the new sexual orientation regulations that came into force earlier this month.
Prior to the party all employees should be made aware of what behaviour is acceptable and what behaviour will not be tolerated, regardless of the circumstances. It should be clearly communicated that this type of behaviour will be treated seriously and that unacceptable behaviour will be reciprocated by corrective action, up to and including dismissal.
Should it occur at a party the incident should be dealt with swiftly through the grievance procedure and should be investigated fully. Both parties should be given the opportunity to express their side of the story and once fully investigated it should be considered if the behaviour will amount to gross misconduct, or under the circumstances, a verbal or written warning.
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