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This article was written by Pam Loch and appeared on SME Web (smeweb.com) on 18 December 2008  

Employers who are organising Christmas staff events this year will no doubt be aware that the behaviour of some staff can sometimes be a cause for concern.

Employers who are organising Christmas staff events this year will no doubt be aware that the behaviour of some staff can sometimes be a cause for concern, especially if they’ve consumed alcohol. 

However with many networking and social events connected to work taking place during the course of the year it’s not just a Christmas concern any more. Most networking and other similar events will usually have alcohol available.  

Alcohol can have the effect on some individuals of removing their previously good judgement and instead have the effect of being like “truth juice”. 

One recent example of what can happen is shown by the vicar banned from practising for 12 years, after she divulged to colleagues at a business lunch that she went on swinging holidays in the South of France. 

Unfortunately she didn’t stop there and also admitted that she had turned up drunk to church services.   Her colleagues decided they had to raise their concerns after the lunch and report her “inappropriate conduct” to a higher authority. 

Employees under the influence of alcohol can be lulled into a false sense of security believing the recipients of the information will treat it as confidential information. The challenge for some managers can be deciding what to do if an employee does divulge too much information about themselves or another colleague. 

Views vary as to what you should do and to some extent it often depends not only on the comments made but the location as well. 

Some managers and HR professionals will take the view that if the disclosure involves any form of harassment then they will follow it up regardless.  Others take the view that only if the comments could damage the business they will take further action. 

What comments could be regarded as damaging the business’ interests can of course vary depending on the parties involved. 

For example we have had some clients who have become very unhappy when one of their managers made disparaging comments about the choice of wine at a company function - particularly after the comments were reported back to senior management by customers attending the event. 

Understandably the clients were concerned about the negative impact on the business’ those sorts of comments can have.
So what can an employer do in these circumstances? If the employer has a clear policy which sets out that this type of conduct is regarded as inappropriate then the employer could take disciplinary action to avoid a repetition in future. 

Depending on the nature of the comments made the employer can also argue that the conduct is in breach of one of the duties of fidelity or loyalty that the employee owes to the employer.  However that is not necessarily an easy route to follow. 

Our advice to clients that are concerned about this is to consider including some additional wording in the contracts of employment, making it clear that the employees are “ambassadors” for the business even when they are attending networking events.
As ambassadors therefore they are expected to act in the best interests of the business at all times. 

Employers also have to be aware that they could be exposed to claims from third parties as a result of being vicariously liable for the actions of their employees at events. This only applies however where the employees are carrying out acts while in the course of their employment. 

What is regarded as being within the course of employment has expanded over the years. 

Attending a networking event or a training weekend would fall within this but the more tricky ones are the social events that could be regarded as being connected with work or an extension of a work event.  For example, a group decide to carry on drinking at the bar after a networking event. 

Is that still within the course of employment? Probably yes. 

Having a clear policy or wording in a contract of employment which deals with their ambassadorial role would help cover off those grey areas.