Should you ban the staff Christmas Party?

This time of year most companies are busy organising their Christmas party.

Know your employer obligations around staff Christmas parties.

You have delegated the organisation of the party to a few team members. They are feverishly ensuring the catering, venue and entertainment is in place. There is an air of anticipation. Employees are excited and are looking forward to celebrating. After all, it’s been a hard year.

Whilst you have delegated the organising of the party, did you know that as a manager or a business owner you cannot delegate your legal obligations?

Employers are responsible for the conduct of their employees in the workplace. A work related Christmas party is deemed an extension of the workplace. So if there was a complaint of, for example, sexual harassment against one of your employees, as the employer, you may be liable.

I have a confession to make. When I was an internal HR practitioner, I used to dread Christmas parties. It’s not that I am a party pooper. On the contrary, I love a Christmas knees up. However, Christmas parties are often formulas for disaster. After the party, senior managers and I dealt with really unpleasant issues whilst employees enviably nurse hangovers. These issues were mainly fuelled by alcohol. Anything from inappropriate lurid jokes, to sexual harassment claims to punch ups between party goers and even a near fatal accident.

These stories are great dinner party conversations but the reality is sobering. Let’s face it; these situations are not pleasant to deal with.

Imagine these three scenarios:

1. A loyal, high performing employee is culpable of a stupid and very inappropriate act. You had no alternative but to terminate them. Imagine informing team members of the employee’s termination? It would certainly affect morale.

2. The distraught employee who was sexually harassed by a colleague.

3. The employee whose reputation has been damaged. Inappropriate pictures of them have been posted on social media by their colleague and the post has have gone viral. How do you deal with that?

Believe me these scenarios happen. For employment lawyers it really is a reason and the season to be jolly. I have no doubt their billing hours increase exponentially in January as they deal with these sorts of issues.

So what are your legal obligations?

1. Under discrimination legislation, if there is a complaint about an employee’s behaviour at a party such as sexual harassment, the courts could still hold you liable. This will be compounded if you turn a blind eye to the complaint.
2. Under Occupational Health and Safety legislation, you still need to take reasonable steps to ensure the health safety and welfare of employees and guests are met. So for example, ensure employees don’t get so drunk that they end up in a brawl and in hospital.
3. If an employee suffers an injury on their way home from the party (which is an increased likelihood if they are worst for wear), you may still be liable to claims of workers compensation.
4. You are required to thoroughly and appropriately investigate incidents in a timely manner. If you overreact and terminate an employee in the heat of the moment without a proper investigation, you may be liable to an unfair dismissal claim. Conversely if you turn a blind eye you may be liable to claims by the aggrieved complainant.

So if I had it my way, I would ban Christmas parties altogether. Only joking…..I am really not the Grinch.

Christmas parties are a chance for you to thank your employees for their hard work and dedication. For your employees it’s a chance to let their hair down. Most people act responsibly and professionally but you know the saying “Its Murphy’s law. If anything can go wrong it will …… eventually”.

So how do you mitigate the risks of claims and minimise inappropriate behaviour? If incidents do occur, how do you deal with them?

Implement HR policies

Ensure you have the right HR policies in place. The main HR policies relevant to the Christmas party include

Employee Behaviour policy:

This policy should include:

• What is considered as appropriate workplace behaviour?
• What constitutes workplace harassment and unlawful discrimination?
• What can employees do if they are harassed or discriminated against?
• The implications if the rules are not followed.

Code of Conduct:

This policy should include:

• The workplace rules employees need to follow.
• Guidelines on behaviour at social functions and implications of inappropriate behaviour.
• The implications if the rules are not followed.

Social Media policy:

This policy should include:

• What the employee can and cannot post on social media. This is especially important at a Christmas party. You don’t want to deal with inappropriate posts and pictures that harm the reputation of the organisation or disparage other employees.
• The implications if the rules are not followed.

Train employees at induction about these policies. Refresh their understanding on an annual basis. At a minimum, ensure employees sign off annually that they have read and understood the policies.

By having these policies in place and ensuring that employees understand their obligations, you have a greater possibility of defending claims.

Send an email about the party

Prior to the party, at a minimum, send an email to all employees. Outline in the email employees’ obligations and bring to their attention relevant HR policies they are required to follow.

Here is a suggested email.

“As you are aware the Christmas party has been scheduled for XXX which commences at 7.00pm and ends at 10.00pm. Please be aware that the bar will close at 9.30pm sharp.

As this is a work related function, our expectations of you as employees continues to apply at the Christmas party.

Please ensure you re-familiarise yourself with the following policies XXX.

These policies not only explain the organisation’s expectations of you, they also inform you of the implications if you do not follow them.

Please ensure that you are professionally attired in line with the Dress Policy.

Please act responsibly regarding the consumption of alcohol to ensure your safety and the safety of others. Remember you are representing the organisation.

Any employees who appear intoxicated will be asked to stop drinking and, if necessary, will be sent home by taxi.

For all employees, we have made arrangement to ensure you get home safely. Please contact XX to arrange a cab charge voucher.

Please be aware that if you choose to undertake any activities beyond XX time, it is not the responsibility of the organisation.

Let’s celebrate a rewarding year and I look forward to seeing you at the Christmas party”.

Appoint senior managers as responsible monitors

Appoint senior managers and if you have one, appoint your HR representative to monitor alcohol consumption as well as deal with issues. Ensure they refrain from consuming alcohol.

You may think that this monitoring will stifle the celebrations. I am not suggesting that the monitoring be over bearing. Rather, senior managers should keep a watchful eye on proceedings and intervene when necessary.

In my experience employees who started to get a little bit inappropriate have thanked me the next day. By intervening, you stop them doing something regrettable!

Reduce consumption of alcohol

Consider the following:

1. Provide only beer and wine rather than spirits.
2. Provide plenty of non-alcohol drinks.
3. Provide sufficient food.
4. Provide alcohol to a prescriptive time. Be clear on the time of last orders.
5. Consider issuing drink tickets. That way, you can keep track and control drinks consumed.

Travelling home

Provide cab vouchers for employees or consider car pooling with employees who have not been drinking.

Don’t allow a drunken employee to wander out of the venue unescorted. Ensure they are accompanied by a responsible person who gets them home safely.

Investigation

Investigate any allegations following the party in line with your disciplinary policy.

Don’t just sweep the matter under the carpet and hope it goes away. You must take these allegations seriously. If you don’t, you may be legally liable if there is a claim.

Conversely don’t over react. There is plenty of case law out there that illustrates how employees have been terminated without proper investigation. Give the employee the opportunity to articulate their side of the story. Gather evidence and interview witnesses. If you don’t, you may be liable for an unfair dismissal claim. Successful claims can result in monetary compensation for the terminated employee or the employee can be reinstated.

Conclusion

If you are an employer, you greatly reduce the risk of any successful claims being made against your organisation if you follow the above steps.

Happy Christmas and enjoy the Christmas party!!

Angela Godfrey and Associates can assist you in developing a comprehensive range of human resources policies that meet your employment law obligations. Angela Godfrey and her business associate, Gabby Sken have been helping business leaders manage, motivate and optimise performance of their staff for over 20 years. They have gained experience as internal HR professionals predominately in financial services and have consulted to sectors such as education, telecommunications and professional services. Should you require HR consulting or coaching, please contact Angela Godfrey.