With the festive season approaching, a Christmas work party might seem like a good opportunity to reward your employees’ hard work and celebrate your company’s achievements for the year.
However, work events, including Christmas parties, are often considered an extension of the workplace, even if held outside working hours and at a separate location. Similarly, it would be best if you were mindful that your health and safety responsibilities apply at a Christmas party as they would at work. It is, therefore, important that similar rules of conduct are in place; if things go wrong, you may be liable for the actions of your employees.
This month, we advise employers to ensure their Christmas parties run without a hitch.
Attendance
You should ensure that all employees are invited, including those on maternity, paternity or any other family-related leave and those on sick leave. However, as Christmas is ultimately a Christian holiday, it is important not to insist that all staff are present at the Christmas party and or pressurise anyone to attend if they do not want to on the grounds of religion.
Consideration should be given to the event’s timing to try and accommodate all employees. If the event is outside of working hours, be aware that some people have family responsibilities preventing attendance, so it should be made clear that attendance is voluntary.
Be Inclusive
It may be more inclusive to refer to the event as a ‘festive’ or ‘holiday’ party rather than a ‘Christmas party’ as these labels may encourage greater inclusivity and higher employee attendance.
When choosing the venue, ensure it is accessible for all your employees, for example, disabled employees.
Additionally, it is important to ask about staff dietary requirements ahead of the event to ensure you can accommodate them properly.
Communicating Expectations
Employers sometimes worry about coming across as Scrooge, but it is crucial to make it clear to all employees that the Christmas party is a work function and that appropriate behaviour and conduct are expected. Prewarn them whilst the party is to be enjoyed, the usual relevant policies and procedures in place dealing with equal opportunities, anti-bullying and harassment, alcohol and substance abuse apply. As a result, you will not tolerate any drunken and disorderly behaviour, damage to the company property, illegal drug taking, verbal or physical abuse and harassment of a sexual or discrimination nature. Such behaviour is likely to result in disciplinary action.
Harassment
Work parties are a high-risk environment for sexual harassment, with boundaries between work and social being blurred. Sexual harassment can be anything from innuendo or jokes to groping or making sexual advances.
This year, employers must comply with the stricter responsibilities introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023. This law places a proactive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to ensure that their work-related events are free from harassment. The legislation also makes employers responsible for ensuring that external guests, such as clients, contractors or vendors, do not harass employees. Failing to take proactive measures could, therefore, land you in legal liabilities and risk reputational damage.
As a result, employers hosting festive events must take proactive planning measures and anticipate scenarios in which staff may be subjected to sexual harassment so that they can take steps to mitigate them. Carry out an appropriate risk assessment, especially if you have had previous complaints of sexual harassment raised in grievances or exit interviews, and depending on what risks you identify, think about what can be done to minimise those risks, For example, you may choose to limit the alcohol provision or even opt for a no-alcohol policy. Alternatively, instead of the traditional Christmas party, a team lunch or activity-based daytime social (such as go-karting or bowling) may minimise risks of staff harassment.
Even if you do continue down the traditional Christmas party route, you may decide to hold your event earlier or at a location where there are good transport links so people can get home safely.
Secret Santa
If you are organising a Secret Santa gift exchange, remind employees that gifts should be inoffensive. Inappropriate humour in the workplace could be considered harassment in some circumstances and is unacceptable.
Social Media
With the upcoming holiday season, now may be a good time to review and remind all staff of your company’s social media policy. Employees may be inclined to take and share photos from the staff Christmas party on social media without considering the potential implications. Additionally, there is a risk of employees posting inappropriate content on social media that could offend or embarrass individuals mentioned in the post or reflect poorly on you as the employer.
Posting photographs or information on social media that could be perceived as discriminatory or bullying behaviour may also prompt grievances from coworkers. Furthermore, if the post identifies you as the employer, it risks harming your company’s reputation and business relationships.
Here to Help
While Christmas work parties and other work-related socials are a great way of motivating and rewarding staff, employers must be aware of the above issues and act sensibly and promptly to deal with any matters that do arise.If you would like any advice relating to an employer’s responsibilities concerning work Christmas parties and social events or any other employment-related issues, please get in touch with our experienced employment law team on 0300 303 2071 or via email.
