Minimise your Legal Risks this Festive Season
It's that time of the year again when your social calendar starts to fill up with work Christmas parties, drinks and end of year functions.
But you need to remember this.....
While holding work Christmas functions and parties offer a great chance for you to reward your employees for all their hard work, hosting end-of year festivities for your staff also carries with it a number of legal risks.
Just by way of an example, here are three ways you can be held liable for your employees' actions out of work hours:
Safety Laws – During functions held outside of normal hours, you still have a responsibility to abide by your obligations under occupational health and safety legislation. This means you are still required to provide a safe environment for your employees and guests.
Workers Compensation Laws - If an employee suffers an injury at a work-related function outside of normal working hours, they may be able to claim under your workers' compensation insurance.
Discrimination Laws - If you have an employee that engages in sexual harassment or some other form of undesirable behaviour in a situation connected to their employment, you could be held vicariously liable under anti-discrimination legislation (unless you have taken reasonable steps to prevent the conduct).
While hosting a work function carries with it a number of inherent legal risks, there are things you can do to minimise those risks.
Try taking these 7 steps to reduce the chances of inappropriate ‘after hour’ behaviour occurring at your work functions:
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Make it clear that the rules you set for appropriate workplace behaviour also apply at social functions.
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Ensure that people vacate the premises at the end of the function (if it is held at your workplace).
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Limit the ability of employees to consume excessive amounts of alcohol (if possible).
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Take steps to address workplace attitudes that condone excessive drinking.
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Ensure that all employees are aware of the repercussions of drinking in excess of the legal driving limits. You should also remind them that it is their responsibility to drink alcohol responsibly and legally.
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Consider the location of the function. It may be a good idea to provide your employees with travel to and from the function if it is a long distance from your workplace.
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Make it clear to employees that events away from work are only authorised for a specific period. You could do this by advertising the specific hours of your work function to employees, for example, 5:00pm to 11:00pm.
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