Office parties at Christmas can be fantastic morale-boosters – with enough laughs to keep people smiling well into the New Year. Unless you’re a descendant of Scrooge, most employees enjoy seeing normally reserved peers letting their hair down on the dance floor or “rocking out” on the karaoke machine.
The key to festive success for HR is organisation. You need an event that appeals to the majority but also will not leave you in legal hot water. Employers must not forget that they have responsibility for the event regardless of its location.
Mince pies and mulled wine are not for everyone but to guarantee more merriment than tears, employers would be very wise to bear in mind:
- 1. You cannot force staff to attend; it should be voluntary.
- 2. Be alert to religious issues. We live in a diverse and multi-denominational world. Enjoying what is essentially a Christian festival can to some seem outdated, even discriminatory given The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief.
- 3. If sufficient non-Christian employees want something alternative, encourage all staff to be more inclusive or highlight the team building benefits of a group gathering of employees, regardless of religious belief or time of year. Just be aware that some themes may also be inappropriate, a beach party in December to some people may well be offensive.
- 4. If you are inviting staff and their partners, then that should include all partners whether married, same sex civil partners or long-term partners in both heterosexual and same sex relationships. No employer wants a claim for sexual orientation discrimination.
- 5. A Christmas party without alcohol is like Christmas television without the Queen’s speech. But just because there have been no problems in the past, do not be complacent. Re-enforce your company policy by giving a clear message in advance that excessive drinking, or drink driving, will be a serious disciplinary offence.
- 6. Think carefully about free bars. Events on Friday evenings may well save a lot of problems the next day by avoiding the temptation for staff to call in sick. Consider making it clear to staff that calling in sick the next day because they overdid it the night before may be the subject of disciplinary action.
- 7. Consider appointing a couple of inconspicuous guardians for the event. They can have one or two drinks but their role is to watch out for situations that could become out of hand. Discreetly putting someone in a cab can avoid a lot of problems!
- 8. Update your HR policy so it covers confidentiality issues. For instance, no one wants to find out about a restructure to their department in the New Year when they have had too much to drink. Those employees involved in sensitive projects should be aware of the boundaries from the beginning so if they blurt out confidential information, they only have themselves to blame when they answer disciplinary proceedings for perhaps misconduct in the New Year.
- 9. Also update your HR policy so it covers the new definition of sexual harassment. Christmas is not the opportunity to abuse the mistletoe by making a pest of yourself. It is perhaps “bah humbug” but it may be wise to leave the mistletoe outside of the Christmas party. Harassment at the Christmas party by one employee against another normally results in the employer picking up the pieces because it took place “during the course of employment”. Ideally, a harassment policy will be in place, staff are adequately trained and aware that harassment is viewed with zero tolerance.
- 10. Health and safety. If the Christmas party is to be held in the office, then most office desks are not designed for dancing on, photocopiers are probably best kept under lock and key, and as most offices are now non-smoking, members of the fire service are likely to have a serious sense of humour failure if they are called out to answer a smoke alarm or extinguish a fire caused by an ashtray.
But hey, you should remember that a Christmas office party should be about having fun. We all appreciate that employment law and good HR practice should be adhered to but sprits should be allowed to get high, just not too high!
Chris Syder is Partner & Head of Employment at the Clarkslegal London office.
Related items:
