How to Stop Your Christmas Party Turning into a Zoo

The unfair dismissal case of Westlake v ZSL London Zoo is one in a long line of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims dealing with the fallout from the office Christmas party. The case involved a fight between two zoo keepers over the lead keeper who was in a relationship with one of the women and an ex of the other. One of the women was dismissed and the other was issued with a warning. The tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair; the finding that the Claimant was at fault was based on ‘gut feeling’ and the severity of the second zoo keeper’s injuries but the Claimant’s compensation was reduced to zero. This was on the basis that if the other keeper had been dismissed, the outcome would not have been any different for the Claimant.

Christmas parties are a good way of boosting morale and thanking staff for their hard work over the year, but the point to remember is that the party is an extension of the workplace and issues arising should be treated as you would any other that occurred in the office.

If an employee commits an act of discrimination or harassment, their employer may have a defence if it can show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent it. The steps need to have been taken before the incident occurred. As a minimum, employers should have in place policies (anti-harassment, equal opportunities and so on), make employees aware of them, train managers and take appropriate disciplinary action.

So what can employers do to avoid being caught up in the ET after Christmas?

Before the party...

• Remind staff that your usual office rules apply even if your party is outside of work hours or offsite and employees will be bound by your disciplinary, grievance and anti-harassment, social media policies and so on, in the usual way.
• Be inclusive, think about where and when the party will take place. Use an accessible venue, those with childcare responsibilities may not be able to make an evening. If there is to be entertainment, make sure that it is not likely to offend.
• Think about your menu, some groups will not eat certain foods. If you are providing a bar, make sure that food is served.
• Plan the journey home. Take steps in advance to avoid employees driving home if they have been drinking, perhaps providing transportation or at least having cab numbers available.

At the party...

• If something goes wrong, then wait until after the event to investigate. Whilst it may be a good idea to send an employee home, do not be tempted to investigate the issue in detail at the time and especially not in front of other employees. Investigate if necessary after the event as you would any other disciplinary matter.
• Avoid discussions about performance and pay to avoid inadvertently making promises that an employee may try to hold you to in the New Year.

The morning after…

• In the event that there is a complaint, investigate as you would any other grievance. Many of the cases surrounding Christmas parties involve the failure to adequately investigate grievances raised after the event.
• If the following day is a working day and you want employees to attend, then warn them in advance that unauthorised absences will not be tolerated.

The Christmas party is always a hot topic in Employment Law this time of year - click here to watch Judith Curran's short video discussing the dangers of the office Christmas party.