The Christmas party is often one of the most anticipated events of a worker’s yearly calendar, where drinks might be flowing, workers are excited for pending time off and colleagues from departments near and far meet for a catch up. However, many a Christmas party has ended in tales of inappropriate sexual behaviour, permanently damaged employee-employer relationships, and sometimes employment tribunal claims.
Employers need to take steps to prevent inappropriate behaviour and, if such behaviour does occur, that it is handled swiftly and effectively, ensuring employees feel well supported in the process. Employers should also remember that even if parties happen off-site, as a work-related event, any incidents that may arise will be viewed as being related to an employee’s employment and therefore, result in the employer being liable. Here, we explore some of the main areas where employees and employers could find themselves in hot water as a result of behaviour at a Christmas party.
Sexual harassment
The dangers of inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature at Christmas parties is ever more pressing given the new duty to prevent sexual harassment which became law on 26 October 2024 via an amendment to the Equality Act 2010. Under this new duty, employers must actively take steps to prevent their workers from being sexually harassed. If they don’t, this could lead to larger financial risks in terms of compensation (a 25% uplift may be applied to discrimination compensation) and enforcement action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), not to mention the reputational damage that could occur alongside this.
It’s clear that sexual harassment should always be taken seriously (the EHRC states that a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment should be taken by employers). Many individuals may not realise that sexual harassment goes beyond inappropriate touching – it can include sexual remarks, sexually offensive jokes or sharing inappropriate sexual content e.g. showing a colleague a sexual image found on social media. It also doesn’t always matter what the intent of the harasser was (e.g. a comment was meant as “banter”) or even if it was aimed at them, if the effect it had on the individual was to violate their dignity or that it created a harmful environment for them.
The dangers of the Christmas party also don’t just stop with an organisation’s employees. Many employers may choose to allow third parties at their Christmas events – whether that be plus ones of employees such as spouses, or perhaps even clients and suppliers. These individuals, too, are a risk with regard to harassment towards employees, and the new duty extends to protecting employees from third party harassment.
Notwithstanding the new duty, if sexual harassment does occur and an employer seeks to defend this claim in its entirety by arguing that they did all they could to prevent it and therefore they shouldn’t be liable, they will seek to rely on the “all reasonable steps” defence. This is even more onerous than the new duty to prevent and will require employers to have done everything reasonably possible to prevent the conduct in order to not be liable for it. Needless to say, this defence (capable of being pleaded in all claims of discrimination) is rarely successful.
Preferably, employers should have their own standalone sexual harassment policy, which will set out how such harassment will be investigated and dealt with. And all employees should be trained on how to behave as well as to spot, tackle and potentially deal with complaints (if their role is managerial in nature).
Fighting and verbal abuse
When drinks are flowing, invariably an atmosphere of celebration has more chance of turning sour – whether that be someone saying the wrong thing to someone, personality clashes or workplace conflicts coming to a head. While not overly common, there is always the risk of physical fights breaking out at Christmas parties, and employers need to do their best to prevent them from happening by putting in preventative measures.
Whereas fighting is quite easy to categorise and spot, what constitutes verbal abuse is a bit more nuanced – and may be harder to prove. Verbal abuse comes in many forms and goes way beyond just overtly shouting at someone. More subtle forms of verbal abuse include hostility, mockery, humiliation, etc. Again, verbal abuse tends to be more prevalent when there is alcohol involved, where employees may not think before they speak, and they forget that they are still technically in a working environment. If reports of verbal abuse are made to an employer, it is important they are taken seriously and investigated.
Employers should ensure the background to any altercation or abuse is investigated and any red flags with regard to potential discrimination or victimisation are fully investigated. It is important that employees feel fully supported and any issues within workplace culture are dealt with early.
Further, any employees who speak up about a previously unknown incident of abuse should have their allegations treated respectfully and confidentially. If the employee believes they are at further risk of harm, steps may need to be taken to ensure no confidential information is provided when interviewing an alleged perpetrator.
In any cases where an altercation has arisen between employees, an employer should work to separate employees who may be unable to be around each other. This could involve an immediate paid suspension while matters are investigated and a full investigation with witnesses should take place as a matter of urgency. Employers should be sure that if they have a harassment and bullying policy that this is followed, in addition to any grievance or disciplinary procedure. The ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures should also be closely followed alongside any internal policies. Employers should take care that employees are not in any way victimised for bringing allegations of abuse and should take any allegations of this nature seriously which may involve conducting further investigations.
Damage to property
Some employers may host their Christmas parties on company property, whereas others may hire an external venue – either way, there is a degree of responsibility on employees not to cause any damage to the property. Christmas parties are intended to be positive and happy events, but occasionally overenthusiasm (especially if alcohol is involved) can result in things being broken, whether that be an employee spilling their drink on the DJ’s equipment, or a picture falling off the wall and smashing. If property is damaged, an employer may wish to take disciplinary action if an investigation reveals wilful or negligent damage occurred. Typically, employers cannot deduct any damages from an employee’s wages unless this is explicitly provided for in their contract or the employee otherwise agrees to pay.
Turning up for work the next day still under the influence of alcohol
For some, the last song at the Christmas party does not spell the end of their night, and some employees may find a nightclub or party to head to afterwards to keep the night going. It’s to be expected that there may be a few bleary eyes in the workplace the day after the Christmas party, but what happens if an employee turns up still drunk and/ or smelling of alcohol?
Again, employers should immediately investigate and may choose to suspend the employee on full pay. A drunk employee could be a health and safety risk (especially in industries such as engineering) and may cause reputational damage to the employer. If the employee is found to have committed misconduct, employers may choose to discipline up to dismissal, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Creating a safe, fun, trouble free Christmas party
Christmas parties should be fun for everyone, and the above risks should not serve as a deterrent in holding a party to reward employees for their hard work, but they should serve as some things to consider when planning. Employers should first consider carrying out a risk assessment and should also consider preventative measures whilst encouraging robust reporting and investigation procedures such as:
- Preventing poor behaviour by way of regular training to all staff to detect, confront and report poor behaviour at events.
- Keeping communication channels open for employees at work and especially during events – e.g. by having designated safeguarding individuals or manners of reporting harassment at a Christmas or other work event.
- Sending communications to all staff regularly and in advance of any events confirming there is a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse and confirming examples of inappropriate conduct e.g. fighting or sexual harassment.
- Having strong, easily accessible reporting procedures – all employers should have robust, bespoke policies around misbehaviour and reporting that are reviewed at least annually. Employees should be made aware as to how to report different types of misbehaviour and who to report to, as well as potential alternative lines of reporting e.g. anonymous email addresses/phone numbers as many employees may be fearful of reporting, especially if abuse of power/sexual harassment is involved.
Employers should continue to review their policies and methods of preventing poor behaviour and should always consider inviting employees to participate in the creation of such policies by way of employee representatives or union representatives as applicable. With the above in mind, an employer may be able to prevent incidents occurring at Christmas parties and other work social events all year round.