Last Orders for Booze at Work Parties

Julie Sabba, an Associate in MLP’s Employment team, considers a new survey highlighting the potential negative consequences of alcohol consumption at work social events.

Following a new poll by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), one third of managers say they have had to deal with harassment and inappropriate behaviour at work events, often caused by staff drinking alcohol to excess.  The significant majority of those who felt they had suffered such unwanted behaviour due to intoxicated colleagues were female employees.

Furthermore, as increasing numbers of younger people (between the ages of 16 and 34 ) are eschewing alcohol in general and many also abstain from drinking for cultural or religious reasons, employers are being encouraged to move away from alcohol as a focus of work-related social events.  Indeed, the CMI’s boss said alcohol “doesn’t need to be the main event” at parties.

Indeed, employers are now often finding the idea of booze fuelled parties too much of a risk and are moving away from such events to try other activities to reward staff and promote good relations at work, such as paint-balling and escape rooms.  Limiting the number of drinks available and ensuring that there are plenty of soft drinks and food can also help create the right atmosphere, without being overly restrictive.

Employers are also using existing safeguards, such as workplace anti-harassment and discrimination policies, to ensure that they have been extended to cover work social events.

Ultimately, employers need to balance good staff relations against their responsibility to keep employees safe, even outside what could be considered the normal working environment.