A Norwich lawyer is warning revellers to watch their behaviour at their office Christmas party - or risk legal consequences.
Sarah Appleton, a partner specialising in employment law at Leathes Prior Solicitors, has shared her advice on how to avoid an HR nightmare at your work’s end of year celebration - and spoiler alert, you might want to go easy on the mulled wine.
Ms Appleton said: “Christmas parties, even when held out of working hours and off-site, are generally considered to form part of work, so normal conduct rules apply.
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“That means - and this is by no means an exhaustive list - no fighting, no drugs, and no drunkenness.”
As an extension of this, employers also have a duty to keep their employees safe, even if they’re not in their normal place of work or during regular work hours.
Ms Appleton said this applies in obvious ways, like protecting workers from health and safety issues, but also in terms of keeping them safe from emotional or psychological harm.
She said: “If an employer witnesses one employee behaving inappropriately towards another, they really should step in (sensitively) there and then to stop that behaviour.
“Investigating on the night is probably not appropriate, but we see all too often how stories from Christmas parties are told and retold, and therefore evolve further and further from the actual truth as time goes on.
READ MORE: Why businesses and employees are shunning the traditional work Christmas party
“When an employer becomes aware that an employee has misbehaved, they should speak individually to any member of staff who witnessed that behaviour sooner rather than later, and note down their version of events in writing, before the story does the rounds and memories inevitably change.
“It goes without saying that the employee in question should also be spoken to.
“Really then whether formal disciplinary action follows (and what that looks like) very much depends on the conduct in question and the witness information collected.”
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