An Employer’s Guide to Christmas – Part 2

Welcome to part two of our festive Employer’s Guide to Christmas. Here we explore how to handle the aftermath of your office party and discuss how to deal with any disciplinary issues, leave requests and sickness absence.

For those still looking forward to the office Christmas party, don’t forget to check out part one of our guide on pre-party planning.

Firstly, let’s look at the least serious issue. There will inevitably be a few employees who overindulge on the festive booze and fail to make it to work on time (or at all) the next day. If your party is being held on a weeknight, you may wish to give some thought to what might happen the following day.

If your business allows, consider letting your staff start an hour or two later than normal. If that’s not possible, ensure that everyone is aware of the consequences of failing to turn up because they are hungover! It is generally not an acceptable reason for sickness absence, regardless of it being Christmas time and if you consider this a disciplinary issue, explain what action will be taken.

You can make deductions from an employee’s pay if they turn up for work late, so long as the right to make deductions for unauthorised absence is specified in their contract of employment.

Unfortunately, even the best-run events can lead to more serious matters that must be handled properly. In our experience, most HR issues arising from office Christmas parties involve either fighting or inappropriate sexual behaviour, both of which are treated as serious incidents.

Grievances received after a work-related social event should be treated exactly as they would be had the incident occurred in the workplace. As an employer, it is your duty to follow up promptly and ensure all concerns are investigated efficiently and fairly. Consistency is key. Downplaying or overlooking incidents arising from a Christmas party may lead to bigger problems further down the line if similar misconduct occurs in the workplace.

Failing to deal with them properly could lead to expensive claims against the business and potentially against the employees involved personally, so take legal advice and don’t try to sweep the issue under the carpet and hope it will go away.

While it may be tempting to show a little extra goodwill over the Christmas period, poor attendance after the party may impact productivity and morale. Employers must also ensure employees are genuinely fit to work. A hangover is not typically considered a valid reason for sickness absence, and if they are required to operate machinery, you should assess whether they can carry out their role safely.

Festive season or not, your sickness and absence procedures remain firmly in place, and in the run-up to Christmas, a gentle pre-party reminder can help set clear expectations. Reinforcing that the company’s sickness and absence policy continues to apply, that unauthorised absence may lead to disciplinary action, and that they have a responsibility to ensure they are fit to perform the role they are employed to do.

Your company’s annual leave policy will provide guidance on the procedure staff should follow to book time off work. If you need to restrict leave over the Christmas and New Year period, or if your business is closing for the holidays (essentially forcing employees to use some of their holiday allowance), it should be clearly stated in the policy and contracts of employment.

If your business will be open over the festive period, you will need to plan ahead to organise cover. You may find it useful to draw up a rota detailing the days your business will be open and request volunteers to work. Otherwise, if you need to select staff, you must ensure that the selection methods are fair. It may not always be possible to grant everyone’s holiday requests, but the key is to try and find some middle ground whilst treating all staff fairly and consistently. Keep records that can be consulted when deciding future rotas so that you can justify your decisions.

It is important to remember that:

• Unless employment contracts state otherwise, your employees do not have the right to have either a day away from work or to take as paid time off.
• There is no legal right to paid leave for public holidays. Any right to paid time off for these holidays depends on the terms of an employee’s contract.
• Public holidays can be counted towards an employee’s statutory 28 days of paid holiday.

The lead-up to Christmas is a good time to check that your key policies and procedures are up to date in case they are needed over the festive period. Particularly relevant are disciplinary policies and procedures, sickness and absence policies, social events policy and bad weather policies.

Our Employers’ Guide to Christmas might have you thinking that organising the office Christmas party is a daunting prospect. Rest assured, with the right preparation and communication, you can strike the right balance between work and celebration, and there’s no reason your event won’t be a highly enjoyable occasion.

December can be a disruptive month, so it’s important to remain mindful of those who may find this time of year difficult and be prepared to be flexible where needed.

As always, if you do face post-event HR or disciplinary issues, our Employment Law team will provide specialist support and is just a call away.

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