School Christmas parties present the opportunity for misconduct issues to arise and it is important to know your responsibilities as an employer and understand what is acceptable and what is not.
Although these events are sometimes held outside of the school environment, all employees attending the Christmas party are still representing your School and are expected to act accordingly. If you witness any inappropriate behaviour, you may find yourself dealing with a disciplinary matter.
Common examples of gross misconduct at the Christmas Party include:
If an incident is closely connected to work and will inevitably impact the working situation, then you, as the employer, are likely to start a disciplinary investigation regarding the matter.
Christmas parties are an opportunity to let your hair down and relax but what happens at the Christmas party does not always stay at the Christmas party!
Without appropriate HR policies and procedures, inappropriate behaviour at the office Christmas party can have major repercussions. Below, we have highlighted the key points that you should inform your employees of before the event:
Under Health & Safety regulations, all employees have a duty to take responsibility for their own safety. They also have the same duty to others, who may be affected by their acts, particularly when alcohol is consumed.
Christmas parties have become infamous as an occasion for over-consumption of alcohol, often with embarrassing consequences. Remind your employees that alcohol should be consumed in moderation and should not be an excuse to drink excessively.
Improper conduct, or other unacceptable behaviour, will not be tolerated and is a serious disciplinary matter, this includes excessive drunkenness, the use of illegal drugs, unlawful or inappropriate discrimination or harassment, violence such as fighting or aggressive behaviour or the use of inappropriate language. Any of these may amount to gross misconduct, dependent on the circumstances and may result in summary dismissal.
Employees should never drink and drive, therefore, enforce that employees make prior arrangements, either a lift home by a relative/friend, public transport or taxi, or stay at a local hotel if they don't live close to the venue.
If the party is mid-week and employees are expected to be present at work, then ensure this message is highlighted in pre-event communications. Remind employees that unless they have pre-arranged holiday, normal policies and procedures for absence still apply; a hangover is not an acceptable reason. If an employee fails to turn up as expected, they will be subject to disciplinary action.
Even an after-party can still be considered “in the course of employment”. One past example involves a company Director inviting colleagues back to his hotel room after the Christmas party to continue drinking. Additional drinks were purchased on the company credit card. The Director chose to wear his ‘metaphorical director’s hat’ and was lecturing those present about his role. An employee disagreed with what was said, and the Director struck them, with consequential brain damage. In a court of appeal (Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Ltd), it was determined vicarious liability was applied to the company for their employee’s actions.