The countdown to Christmas is firmly underway with Christmas jumper days, sock days, festive networking events and the much-awaited staff Christmas party. Whilst it should be the ‘season to be jolly’, there are a number of issues that commonly arise at this time, one of which is conduct at Christmas parties and sick days as a result of overindulging.
#Metoo
Following #Metoo and reports earlier this year of an institutional culture of discrimination and harassment towards women, insurance giant Lloyd’s of London sent a statement to staff before their end of year party to remind them of the standard of conduct expected. A survey in September revealed the staggering statistic that one in 12 workers at Lloyd’s had witnessed sexual harassment over the past year.
Chief Executive John Neal said: “We’ve asked people to be particularly careful and remind their staff of the standards of behaviour that they would expect, including at Christmas parties.”
Damage limitation
Employers are taking an increasingly cautious approach to the party season for fear of reputational and legal implications. Some common initiatives rolled out across the city are chaperones, alcohol-free events and strict guidelines on conduct in response to the growing intolerance for potentially offensive or discriminatory conduct in the workplace.
The Financial Times reported that accountancy giant BDO has introduced a ‘sober chaperone’ policy for its Christmas parties, with each department nominating two individuals who agreed to refrain from over-indulging to ensure other employees behaved responsibly.
There has also been a growing trend in lunchtime events or team-building ‘experiences’ in an attempt to avoid over-consumption of alcohol resulting in inappropriate behaviour.
Warnings
So how can employers manage the festive season and all that it brings?
- Send a statement to employees in advance of a Christmas party or similar work-related event;
- Consider a bespoke policy on work social events;
- Reminder to employees of conduct matters, including the dangers of excess alcohol consumption, and behaviours that could be viewed as harassment.
- Consider no alcohol at social events;
- Lunchtime meals or team building events instead;
- Alcohol tokens to limit alcohol consumption.
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 makes employers liable for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation carried out by their employees “in the course of employment”, unless they can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent such acts.
Inappropriate actions in potential breach of the Equality Act 2010 can take a variety of forms such as unwanted advances/conversations which could amount to harassment (most often sexual harassment) and potentially be deemed a criminal offence.
Secret Santa
The concern of inappropriate behaviour goes beyond social events, the office secret Santa can often be a bone of contention. The fine line between what employees consider to be “banter” and what in reality is inappropriate is often crossed and employers should be mindful of discrimination taking place.
Employers are advised at the time of drawing secret Santa names to make clear to employees the importance of purchasing appropriate non-offensive gifts.
Say cheese
With phones glued to peoples’ hands wherever they go, Kodak moments are uploaded instantly on social media and circulated on instant messaging platforms in real-time. Although the work social is a chance for staff to let their hair down and enjoy themselves, there is a potential for comments and candid photos displaying raucous behaviour finding themselves on social media with the potential to cause the employer reputational damage. If there are social media policies in place, employers are advised to circulate these before any social event to remind staff of the do’s and don’ts together with the protocol for sharing photos or posts which are deemed unacceptable.
Photos and videos can often go viral (especially if negative) and are difficult to remove from circulation because the author of the photo/video would need to remove them from their social media account however, this becomes more difficult once the post has been shared by another user making it less possible for it to be removed.
Employers are advised to remind staff not post any photos of events on social media or reference any social media policy, limiting posts to content on any official accounts following approval from management, which will ensure that posts are not only moderated, but appropriate to be viewed by their professional contacts.
The morning after the night before
The party is over…..but what about the following day? How do employers continue to manage the aftermath of lateness and ‘sickness’ absence after a late night and possible overindulgence?
Hangover days
The Audit Lab, a company is based in Bolton offers employees the option to take ‘hangover days’. The founder is of the view that offering attractive perks is key to attracting millennial talent. How feasible is this when there are Christmas parties and multiple possible absences to contend with? Take a look at The Audit Lab’s rules, for further guidance on practical incorporation of such measures.
40% of businesses that are planning a Christmas event say that alcohol will be freely available and paid for by the company, while 39% say alcohol will be available to buy with no limit. This is the catalyst for hangovers and resultant absences from work.
With a German court ruling that hangovers are an "illness", stating illnesses included even small or temporary changes to the body's normal state, is a hangover then a legitimate reason not to come to work?
After the work Christmas party, if employees are feeling worse for wear; what should they do? Call in sick and claim the generic 24-hour tummy bug? Or force themselves to go into work and apologise for any lateness or the fact they won’t be of any real use that day?
Even after a work party, all the usual rules of conduct still apply unless employees have been told otherwise and employers are advised to remind employees what the expectations are the following morning; whether it is an expectation that they all arrive for work on time, or whether a late start is acceptable. Equally, employers should consider the impact of holding mid-week events where employees then feel forced to attend to the office the following morning nursing a hangover.
CONTACT OUR EMPLOYMENT SOLICITORS
For advice on how any employment law issues relating to work social events to include Christmas party season, contact Kaajal Nathwani of our employment team on 0208 363 4444 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
This briefing has been created for guidance purposes only.
