Christmas is approaching and Christmas means office meals, drink and parties, a time for everybody to unwind after a long year of working hard, but what should a company do if the celebrations go too far? Katy Foster, Senior HR Consultant at Cream HR shares advice on how to handle the office Christmas party and the potential aftermath.
Before the celebrations Katy advises that the activities should be inclusive and fun but that guidelines should be laid out before the event.
Katy said: “In the planning stages make sure that whatever you have planned is inclusive and respectful this means inviting everyone, including part-timers and those on family leave. Make sure that any activities are open to everybody so don’t organise something that somebody with a disability can’t join in with and make sure there are soft drinks available for those that don’t drink.
“Prior to the event set some expectations especially if you have experienced problems at or after the Christmas party in the past. Make it clear that while you want everybody to have fun that some of the rules of being at work still stand, in that they must be respectful.”
What happens when things go wrong?
For all of the pre-planning and letting people know what is expected of them, when the drinks are flowing even the best laid plans can go awry, people can get carried away and this can lead to displaying behaviours and views that haven’t been seen in the workplace.
Katy continues; “It’s Christmas and people are out to have a good time, but they need to remember that they are out as employees, representing the business. Before the celebrations even start, managers would be wise to have in mind what sort of behaviours they can laugh off and what things are unacceptable and how they will address them when everybody is back at work. In my opinion, the general rule of thumb should be that if it isn’t tolerated at work then it isn’t acceptable at the Christmas party, the only concession to this would be the drinking of alcohol. Make it clear that bullying, harassment, assault, and drugs will not be tolerated, and that appropriate action will be taken.”
What should that action be?
The way a situation is dealt with in the aftermath of the Christmas party will depend on what has happened on the night. General guidelines that Cream HR advise companies to take include;
Inappropriate behaviour
- If it looks like somebody’s behaviour is getting a bit much on the night, gently remind them that they still need to remain respectful when at a work-related event.
- If the behaviour continues it might be a good idea to arrange for that person to leave the party and, with their permission, call them a taxi
- On the day they return to work you would need to call them into an informal meeting (this doesn’t require 48 hours’ notice.)
- Then organise a formal meeting with notice – this gives them the opportunity to get representation or somebody to come into the meeting for support should it be required.
If another member of staff has made a complaint
- If a member of staff has complained, then this will need to be investigated especially if there is a chance that disciplinary action may be taken as a result of the allegation.
- The investigation should include speaking to the accuser and witnesses to try and form a picture of what has happened. You can’t just take someone’s word about what has happened without following a process as it could result in a claim of unfair dismissal later on.
- An investigation requires the accused to be invited to a properly convened formal meeting (this means with two days’ notice and the right to representation) and making them aware of the allegation and outlining the steps involved in the investigation process. If the investigating officer finds there is a case to be answered, then a disciplinary hearing will be called to determine an appropriate sanction.
Katy concludes “It will depend on the company and the company culture but at Cream HR we would generally advise that things like people having too many drinks, embarrassing themselves, over consumption, moaning about their job and such like should pretty much be ignored as the person’s embarrassment afterwards will be enough to stop them doing it again. If it is a case that somebody is extremely drunk and/or sick then this is more of a problem for them than the employer provided their behaviour doesn’t breach any company policies (drugs, harassment, violence etc). However, if it seems to be a pattern of potentially destructive behaviour somebody might want to have a word with them and check they are ok and that there aren’t other things going on for them.”
