Shropshire Star

The perils and pitfalls of office Christmas parties

After another year of grafting, it’s time to let your hair down and celebrate the festive season with your colleagues.

Published
Christmas party season is in full swing

The work Christmas party has become an annual tradition that is both loved and loathed in equal measure.

For most it’s a hard-earned opportunity to catch up with co-workers away from the office, get dressed up and enjoy a few drinks, often on the company’s bar tab.

But for others it can be a night fraught with danger.

A few too many drinks, an office flirtation that spills over into a night of romance, a mild fracas with a colleague who made one too many snide comments at the water cooler, and the new few weeks in the office can become a minefield.

And festive antics at the work Christmas do can have the potential to come back to haunt people, as any wild behaviour is likely to be recorded and shared among others in the age of social media.

For those wanting to ensure they toe the line and don’t do anything they might regret the next days, the general advice is that whether the party is in or out of the office, both employers and employees should conduct themselves appropriately.

“The work Christmas party should be considered to be an extension of the workplace, so the same rules will apply,” says associate solicitor Louise Newbould-Walton of DAS Law.

“Generally speaking, an act of gross misconduct is potentially serious enough to fundamentally breach the contract between employer and employee, and justify summary dismissal.

“In a normal working environment, employees would be aware that ‘punching Tom from accounts’ is likely to be a gross misconduct offence.

Cringe

“At an office party however, the professional line is often blurred, usually fuelled by alcohol which might even have been provided by the employer.

“Common examples of Christmas party gross misconduct are serious insubordination, harassment, and damage to company property.

“This list is not exhaustive and if there is an incident which is sufficiently closely connected to work, and will likely impact on the working situation, then it is likely that the employer will be able to start a disciplinary investigation regarding the matter.”

With social media now used by so many people, photos from the night will almost certainly appear online somewhere and could be seen by the wrong eyes.

And Ms Newbould-Walton says that, unfortunately, not much can be done once these have been made public however much they might make you cringe.

“If the photos or video belongs to an individual then being able to get them removed from social media is highly unlikely, especially if the photo or video has already been viewed or shared.

“Christmas parties should be an opportunity for employees to let their hair down and relax in a more social setting,” she explains.

“It should not be forgotten, however, that what happens at the Christmas party does not always stay at the Christmas party.”

While most Christmas shindigs will go off without a hitch and people simply have a good time – albeit with a sore head the next day – some can take a turn for the worse when too much eggnog flows and the Christmas spirit becomes a little too heady.

Step too far

One office worker from Telford says a work Christmas outing from five years ago is still talked about among her colleagues today after what started as jovial banter between two colleagues went a step too far – and both ended up in A&E with broken noses.

“One of them took exception to something the other one said and punched him square on the nose,” says the 36-year-old who, quite unsurprisingly, wanted to remain anonymous.

“He punched him back and the two of them were swearing and holding their bleeding noses.

“The party was at this really fancy hotel so I don’t think they were too impressed when we had to call an ambulance. Once they had left, everybody carried on enjoying themselves but it still gets brought up every year.”

But Sarah Thomas, a restaurant chain worker from Codsall, met her future husband at an office Christmas party and says they are a great opportunity to get to know colleagues from different departments.

“I might never have met my husband if it wasn’t for the Christmas party because we worked on different floors and did completely different jobs.

“I don’t think we had even walked past each other in the corridor or seen each other in the canteen,” says the 38-year-old.

“I’m sure I would remember if we had.

“But we got chatting over a drink at Christmas four years ago and the rest is history.”

So there is good to come from the loss of inhibitions at the office Christmas party – but it’s still worth taking care not to let things go too far. The rest of your working life depends on it.