1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
Party with care Most employers know they can be legally
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
responsible for the wrongdoing of their employees 'in the course of employment', but what many don't realise is that their responsibility doesn't necessarily stop when the working day is over.
Work Christmas parties usually take place away from work premises and out of work time, but employers remain accountable for employees' actions and behaviour. It isn't difficult to see that the combination of staff out for a good time and a liberal supply of alcohol can be a lethal cocktail -with the employer left to pick up the pieces.
Gone are the days when a few risque drunken comments or a kiss under the mistletoe were seen as harmless fun and the source of a juicy bit of office gossip. Following a string of high-profile cases against employers that resulted from staff antics at Christmas parties, it isn't surprising a recent survey found that 80% of employers said they wouldn't be arranging a Christmas party this year because they were not worth the hassle.
In 1999, a female police officer won substantial damages against her employer at an employment tribunal after claiming she had twice been sexually harassed during work-related events in the pub.
More recently Mrs Weston, a solicitor with the investment bank Merrill Lynch. reportedly received an out-of-court settlement of Elm following allegations that during the office Christmas party a colleague had spilt wine down her top then proceeded to make "disgusting and lewd" remarks about her breasts.
It isn't only claims for sexual harassment that employers need to consider. Other potential problems are under-age drinking by junior employees and transport home after the party.
But tf you don't want to be a party pooper, what can you do to minimise the risk of the Christmas party turning into a 'legal hangover'?
• Make sure your employees know that, while you want them to have a good time at the party, you still expect them to behave properly.
• Remind employees of your rules about unacceptable harassment and bullying in the workplace. !Watch out for under-age drinkers.
• Consider organising transport home from the party venue to prevent drink-driving.