Christmas Employer Issues

Tis the season of joy (and employer pitfalls)

After a challenging year of lockdowns and general business disruption the “festive season” is either an opportunity for you and your employees to either kick back and enjoy a well-earned break or possibly it’s time to ramp up for your busiest trading period if you operate in the service sectors.

From an employment perspective this time can also present some hefty challenges and risks.

Whether you’re ramping up or down, the culmination of the working year is often the Christmas Party or the Secret Santa lunch.

Such events can potentially provide big headaches for the employer if things go wrong.

There can be a fine line between celebrating success during the last year (or possibly just surviving) and allowing people to let their hair down and getting into hot water if things turn to custard. Alcohol can obviously be a catalyst when people in party mode end up doing things that are out of character or indeed in character.

Being well prepared and organised can lessen the risk whether the events are being held on work premises or in an external location. In either case, employers can be held responsible for the behaviour of their employees.

If alcohol is involved then the employer must take steps to safeguard people’s health and safety such as providing transport options as an alternative to them driving themselves, providing food and non- alcoholic drinks.

The risk of harassment is raised whether it’s of a sexual, racial or any other nature so prior to any events taking place it’s always good to remind people of their obligations and what behaviour is expected of them whether through legislation or company policies. If you need help framing policies then I can help.

Even something as innocent as a Secret Santa can end in someone being offended if they are in receipt of an inappropriate gift or innuendo.

There is also a heightened risk of accidents at parties particularly if alcohol is involved and the normal health and safety responsibilities of the employer apply.

The risks may be less obvious if the event is held “offsite” but if employees act irresponsibly then the businesses’ reputation can be at stake particularly if the employees can be identified through branded clothing.

Bringing the Company or business into disrepute can be a criteria for taking disciplinary action even if the event is held externally, and if employee’s use Company vehicles for driving home and get involved in accidents then the business could be held liable.

Another consideration for employers over the festive season is the question of annual leave especially when it comes to mandatory shutdowns. As a business owner you are required to give employees a minimum of 14 days’ notice of a shutdown.

In the first instance employees are required to take annual leave for the shutdown period and they haven’t got sufficient leave in the bank then they can take unpaid leave or leave in advance through mutual agreement.

Even if your business is running at full steam over the Christmas and New Year period you can’t insist your employees work on a public holiday unless the public holiday falls on a day that the employee would normally work or there is specific mention of working on a public holiday.

If the employee works on a public holiday that falls on a day the employee would normally work then they are entitled to time and a half for hours worked and another paid day off taken at a mutually agreed time.

If the public holiday falls on a day the employee would not normally work, then they are entitled to pay for the day at time and a half.

Let me be your Christmas Grinch to help navigate the negative stuff so you are free to enjoy the party! You can call me on 027 201 6395 or email at david@gnarlysolutions.co.nz