22.11.2024

The end of the year is fast-approaching, which means the time to finalise any staff party plans (and dig out your festive jumper) is nearly here!  Remember though, this year you need to add an important point to your HR party-planning to-do list: make sure your sexual harassment risk assessment includes social events like staff parties.

As explained in our recent e-alert, since 26 October 2024 employers now have a proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of employment. “In the course of employment” is broad and includes work events like the annual staff party.  

Below, we explore key issues employers should have in mind during this year’s party-planning process.

Scope of the new duty

The new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment means that as an employer you have a proactive obligation to anticipate scenarios in which your workers may be subject to sexual harassment and, having identified the risks, you must take pre-emptive action to prevent such harassment from taking place.  

Further, where incidents of sexual harassment have already occurred in similar situations, you must take steps to prevent incidents from reoccurring in the future.   

The introduction of this new duty means that, unless you have already done so, carrying out a risk assessment should form a key part of your Christmas party planning process. (If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can access our template risk assessment here.) 

Conducting your risk assessment

  1. Identifying the risks

Helpfully, updated technical guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (the “Guidance”) lists factors that are likely to increase the risk of sexual harassment, and it is worth considering these carefully (see paragraph 4.11 of the Guidance). For example: consider the composition of your workforce (do you have a male-dominated workforce and/or gender imbalances in any of your teams, e.g. where most junior staff are female and most senior managers are male)? Will staff (or third parties) have access to alcohol? Will there be an expectation that staff stay away overnight? Have exit interviews revealed information about previous social events which may be useful to your assessment of the likelihood of sexual harassment arising? These are just some of the issues you should have in mind when assessing the risks associated with the social event you are planning. 

  1. Taking preventative action

Once you have identified the risks, you should take proactive measures to tackle them.  Some recommended steps in the context of Christmas party planning include the following: 

  • Check that your HR policies and procedures are up-to-date, fit for purpose and have been clearly communicated. Keep in mind that even if you hold your annual staff party off-site, outside of normal working hours, and attendance is optional, you can still be held legally responsible for the actions of your employees. You should therefore remind employees in advance that, whilst your staff party is of course a social event, those attending will still be expected to demonstrate the same standards of behaviour as they would in the workplace in accordance with your company’s applicable policies and training (such as your Equality Policy and Anti-bullying and Harassment Policy). 

It is vital that your policies make clear that your organisation takes a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of harassment, including sexual harassment. Make sure these policies have been clearly communicated to your workforce and that they are implemented consistently in practice. If your organisation recognises a union and/or has other staff networks, actively seek out their comments by asking where they think the key risks lie and then show that you are taking active steps to tackle their concerns.  Policies are of little use if they are just kept in a drawer gathering dust, so keep them under regular review.  

Make clear that conduct at the staff party which breaches the standards you have set out in your policies will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action. Speak with your Make UK adviser or email [email protected] if you would like further information about the support Make UK can provide.

  • Consider the nature and timing of your event: If alcohol is a significant risk factor, make sure you offer non-alcoholic alternatives and consider whether the nature or timing of your event could be adapted to make alcohol less of a focus.  For example, could you offer afternoon tea and cake as a more inclusive alternative to the typical Christmas - often alcohol-heavy - menu? These considerations are likely to be relevant to other cultural and religious events during the year too, such as Eid al-Fitr, Diwali, Chanukah and Chinese New Year.
  • Remember that the preventative duty includes third parties: The Guidance makes clear that the new duty includes prevention of harassment by third parties and the EHRC's list of who can count as a third party is broad. This means that as an employer you should consider the risk of your workers coming into contact with third parties at your social event (e.g. clients, contractors and suppliers etc) - maybe the party will take place at a shared venue - and the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in those situations.  You should then take reasonable steps to prevent such harassment from occurring. Similarly, if your employees have been invited to Christmas parties which are being organised by other businesses (such as parties run by your suppliers), consider whether there are steps you could take to minimise the risks of sexual harassment occurring at those events. Addressing the issue of sexual harassment head-on with third parties may not be well-trodden or comfortable territory, but it is important to consider these issues in advance.
  • Nominate responsible persons to make sure it’s alright on the night: On party night, it can be helpful to nominate certain managers to take responsibility to step in early if necessary to ensure that matters don’t get out of hand. If an employee drinks too much, or starts to behave inappropriately, make sure your ‘nominated hosts’ have authority to arrange for these individuals to make an ‘exit’.  

These are just some of the measures you should consider as part of your sexual harassment risk assessment (which you may have already considered as part of a broader risk assessment, or which you may be considering now solely in the context of the staff party). Remember that the preventative duty on employers is an ongoing obligation, so you should carefully document your assessment of the risks and keep this under regular review.   

Set clear boundaries year-round

In addition to the above, there are various ongoing steps HR should take to shape the right kind of organisational culture and ensure that staff are clear about what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviour year-round. For example, we recommend taking the following steps:

  • Provide mandatory awareness training for all staff. Thorough training on what constitutes sexual harassment and how workers should report inappropriate behaviour that they have experienced, or witnessed, can be a key method of prevention and help to ensure workers are aware that your organisation takes the issue seriously.
  • Provide specific training for managers to help them spot when someone may be experiencing harassment and know how to investigate allegations properly. Managers also need training on how to take disciplinary action as appropriate.
  • Refresh your training regularly to ensure that it does not go 'stale'.  Establish a clear process for reviewing the effectiveness of your updated policies and training, with a timetable for refresher training. The new duty requires employers to keep issues relating to sexual harassment 'front of mind', with ongoing monitoring and review.
  • Ensure senior staff “walk the talk”. Staff need to feel able to raise concerns and be confident that any allegations will be handled properly and fairly, regardless of the status of the alleged perpetrator. Part of this is about making sure that your senior leadership team are fully engaged with the preventative steps you are taking and that they openly support your zero-tolerance approach. 
  • Conduct regular staff surveys. These can be invaluable for helping employers understand where issues within their organisation could lie. Commit to refreshing the survey every six months to evaluate whether the actions you have taken have been effective, as well as discussing trends and the results of the staff surveys with your workforce/ their representatives. If you know where the key risks lie, you will be better placed to address them.  

Consequences of non-compliance

Staff parties offer employers a great opportunity to boost staff morale, demonstrate how much they appreciate their staff, and provide a space for colleagues to have fun and socialise in an informal and relaxed environment. Many employees look forward to end-of-year social events with great enthusiasm, keen to spread festive cheer and embrace the spirit of the season. Just remember that you have important obligations from a legal perspective with which you need to comply. 

Although individuals can’t bring a standalone claim in relation to breach of the new preventative duty on employers, the EHRC has broad enforcement powers. In addition, employment tribunals have the power to uplift the compensation awarded in sexual harassment cases by up to 25% if they find that an employer has failed to comply. Failure to prevent sexual harassment at work can also result in substantial costs to an organisation, in terms of financial expenditure, the amount of management time required to defend any legal claims, and of course reputational damage.  

Carrying out a thorough risk assessment should form a key part of your Christmas party planning process. Essentially you should strive towards creating an organisational culture that proactively prevents sexual harassment, rather than simply reacting when incidents occur. Hopefully these pointers will help you to mark the holiday period in a way that is memorable for the right reasons!  

How we can help

Make UK is here to support you with any guidance you may need during the festive season. As your trusted partner, we can support your proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of your workers, from compliance into culture. Our offering includes a suite of training covering all levels - from front line to director - and can be delivered virtually or face-to-face. 

We offer HR and management workshops and visioning sessions, for planning and ongoing review and monitoring of the steps taken. In addition, we can provide template documentation, including an anti-bullying and harassment policy (including management guidance notes), an equality policy, workplace risk assessments (which we can offer in conjunction with our health and safety team), an HR action plan and workforce surveys (including Pulse surveys and focus groups), alongside our full suite of ED&I training and consultancy to support your general duties under the Equality Act 2010. For further details, see Sexual Harassment.  

To book a place on one of our half-day training courses on sexual harassment aimed at HR professionals, click here.

We will also explore these issues further as part of our masterclass series, in partnership with Personnel Today.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for guidance on any of these issues and/or access further details in our HR & Legal Resources. For details of how we can support you with a thorough review of your HR handbooks and policies (available at a discounted price if purchased before the end of 2024) please email [email protected].

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, see here for more information on our subscription, consultancy and training services.