Employment Matters December 2006

THE COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS...

With Christmas just around the corner, the Cobbetts employment team are here to offer some practical advice on how to cope with seasonal pressures in the workplace, at this special time of year.

In particular, with the potential pitfalls of the office Christmas party and enough ‘do’s and don’ts’ out there to give you a headache before you even have your first glass of mulled wine, we have compiled some tips to help ease you through the festive party season.

The office Christmas party is traditionally the one event of the year when most employees generally assume they can let their hair down and anything goes. People can get over excited and may act out of character, often leading to a barrage of salacious scandal and gossip for the New Year. Mixed with a good dose of alcohol, usually provided free of charge, the office party can turn out to be an employer’s nightmare with nothing but New Year blues, allegations of sexual harassment and investigatory and disciplinary meetings for rows, fights and other unacceptable conduct to look forward to.

With all this doom and gloom, it’s unsurprising that local press reports claim the majority of employers will not be organising an office Christmas party this year for fear of employment tribunal claims. The statistics speak for themselves with a recent survey of 5,000 bosses revealing that three out of four said a member of staff had threatened to take a case to an employment tribunal because of an incident at a Christmas party. Most of those surveyed also believed that their employees drank too much at the office ‘do’. However, with some thought and planning, it is possible for employers to reduce the risk of trouble arising at Christmas parties, without limiting the fun.