Christmas parties: What to do when things turn ugly

Ray Silverstein, employment partner at law firm Browne Jacobson, advises employers on avoiding the potential legal fallout of staff Christmas parties without dampening the festive spirit.

It's official: Christmas parties can be bad for your health. And your company's.

So much so that the Royal College of General Practitioners has been known to kick off the Christmas season by warning that staff parties can be partially to blame for a rise in the number of people suffering from coughs and colds. The college has even gone so far as to advise Christmas partygoers to "avoid close contact," in order to reduce the chances of the cold virus spreading! Some party that would be…

But in many ways, the learned doctors speak sense, and employers should pay heed. There is indeed something to be said for showing restraint over Christmas celebrations, and not just for the sake of our health. All too often an expensive Christmas event, intended to thank staff for their hard work and encourage a happier workforce, can go badly wrong.

When things turn ugly

Christmas party incidents that have landed on my desk over the years have included such unsavoury behaviour as food fights, punch-ups, complaints of sexual harassment and, in one particularly worrying case, a disgruntled employee driving a bulldozer to his manager's house and threatening to knock it down!

These are of course extreme examples, but as the festive season gets into full swing, staff will be presented with more occasions than usual to drink to excess, both in professional contexts and away from work.

This is likely to be the case more than ever this year, with the newly liberalised pub opening hours offering even more opportunities for extended festive drinking.

With this in mind, there are two broad areas of risk employers could find themselves facing should a Christmas party turn ugly:

· The victim: A firm will normally have to compensate anybody assaulted, molested or harassed by one of its employees at a company event.

· The offender: If the alleged offender should be dismissed unfairly – and 'unfairly' may merely entail failing to follow the firm’s disciplinary procedures, whatever the employee’s guilt or otherwise – then substantial additional compensation may also have to be paid.

Humbug?

Far be it from me, however, to suggest that employers play Scrooge and do away with this year's company celebrations. But a word to the wise is in order: a few steps to limit the chances of the night getting out of hand are advisable:

· Pre-warn staff: think about sending a memo to all staff during the run-up to the Christmas party, reminding them that this is a work event, and that company policies, including disciplinary procedures, will apply as they would normally at work. Such a memo can be used to helpfully inform staff that swearing, fighting, discriminatory jokes, harassment and any other inappropriate behaviour are likely to lead to dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.

· Be timely: give advanced warning, and don’t dampen the party spirit on the day - make sure that any disciplinary memo is not sent on the day of the Christmas party!

· Limit the amount of alcohol on offer: especially if it is being given away free of charge. Paying for the drinks at the Christmas do may be a popular way of expressing thanks to staff for the past year’s hard work, but unfortunately, it is also a sure-fire way to encourage some individuals to go over the top.

· Provide food: for example a buffet or a sit down meal - to soak up the alcohol.

· Time the event to avoid long periods of solid drinking: break up drinking with a meal, speeches, games or entertainment where appropriate.

Rest ye merry

Such precautions may sound far from festive, but if implemented, they should help give employers confidence that they have taken what action they can to protect themselves and their staff.

After all, when the party gets started, employers and staff alike simply want to relax and have a great time – without getting too close, of course!

Wishing you the compliments of the season and a prosperous 2006.