Take a sober look at staff drinking

Times

16-07-2025

Q: We want to encourage our teams not to get too drunk and to get home safely after our summer party and also at conferences they will attend in the second half of the year, in part to reduce the risk of claims of discrimination and harassment. Can we make line managers liable for ensuring events go smoothly and without issue?
A: Work events involving alcohol inherently carry a higher risk of discrimination and harassment, and in these circumstances prevention is key. In fact, employers are under a legal duty to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, with risk assessments forming a key part of meeting this obligation.
One key area of focus for any such risk assessment will be evaluating risks associated with workplace events, especially where alcohol or overnight stays are involved. Where things go wrong, an employer may be legally responsible for the acts and omissions of its employees, even where the event occurs outside work hours or at a non-work location. This is known as 'vicarious liability'.
With a growing emphasis on preventing workplace discrimination and harassment, employers have a range of tools at their disposal, and managers are central to this.
The first step is to ensure you have clear policies and procedures in place that set your expected standards of workplace conduct and the consequences of failure to comply.
If you have not updated your policies and procedures in recent years, you should do so. We are seeing more extreme examples of misconduct in the workplace, including violence, discrimination and harassment. Your policies and procedures need to expressly deal with this and set out specific and comprehensive examples of the types of behaviour that will not be accepted.
For example, you can explain that it is not acceptable to consume excessive amounts of alcohol or take drugs at work or workplace events and failure to comply will be treated as gross misconduct, which can lead to summary termination of employment.
It is also recommended that employers implement a 'relationship policy', which essentially assumes all workplace relationships are non-consensual unless reported to the employer in writing in advance, particularly where alcohol is involved. Your policies should state that line managers are responsible for monitoring compliance with your policies and must escalate any issues to HR — and that if managers fail to do so, their own failure to act may also be treated as gross misconduct.
Second, you need to train your managers and staff on these policies and ensure they understand their rights, obligations and roles in ensuring compliance and the consequences for them personally for failing to adhere to them.
Third, it is essential that senior leaders and line managers lead by example and take a proactive approach.
In many cases where serious incidents occur at workplace events, the perpetrator has previously engaged in low-level, 'testing the waters' behaviour that went unchallenged, ultimately escalating over time. To help mitigate risk at such events, consider appointing a designated manager responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the event and ensure they are aware of their personal obligations under your policies and procedures.
It is also good practice to remind employees in advance that misconduct — including excessive alcohol consumption — is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action.
If any employee appears to be drinking excessively, the designated manager should intervene, which may include sending the individual home and initiating disciplinary proceedings where appropriate.
Ultimately, if you make your managers personally responsible for stamping out unlawful behaviour, you should expect to see an overall improvement in proactive management of problematic employees and a reduction in workplace issues.
Michelle Last is an employment partner at Keystone Law