Can you get sacked for what happens at the work Christmas party?

'Tis the season to be jolly as the famous song goes, but not too jolly that it could land you in hot water with your employer!

With work Christmas parties taking place right across the country in the coming weeks, Martina McAuley, HR Team Co-Director and leading employment law advice expert has this advice for employees and employers.

She said: "Any work-related social event is an extension of the workplace. Whether the event is held inside your own office block, in a hotel or other function area, the venue is considered an extension of the workplace.

"There are certain steps employers should take in advance to mitigate any risk or unacceptable behaviour at Christmas parties or other work-related social events.

1. The organisation should firstly have a robust policy governing work-related social events.

2. The policy should clearly outline the behaviours expected of employees.

3. We would recommend that a memo is issued prior to the party reminding all employees of the organisation's policy on work-related social events.

4. The details of the memo should also be verbally communicated by line managers to all staff to minimise risk of breaches of the policy and the need for disciplinary action.

5. The memo should detail a clear start and finish time of the work-related social event, outline the expected behaviours and advise employees not to say or do anything that they would not normally say or do within their working environment.

"In our experience, many employees are extremely surprised to discover that when socialising with colleagues at an event laid on by their employers, the venue is an extension of the workplace and the same rules apply.

"The types of issues that an employer could be exposed to are harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination. The most common issues by far, in our experience, are related to physical and verbal altercations between work colleagues."

So can you actually be sacked for something which happens at the Christmas work party?

Martina said: "Employment law is similar to criminal legislation in that someone is innocent until proven guilty, employers cannot instantly dismiss an employee for misconduct due to an incident at a Christmas party or other work-related social event.

"Regardless of the level of misconduct, all employees are entitled to a fair hearing and a fair process. There are a number of instances that generally constitute gross misconduct across sectors. Among these are turning into work intoxicated through the use of illegal drugs or alcohol, theft, fraud and assault."

What constitutes gross misconduct?

1. Physical violence or bullying - drink is no excuse for punching Mike from accounts
2. Theft - this speaks for itself, but it's not a good idea to be caught sneaking the work TV out because yours is broken
3. Unlawful discrimination or harassment - No, mistletoe is not an excuse for ignoring the normal rules around what is or isn't acceptable behaviour with your colleagues
4. Causing loss or damage through negligence - for example leaving the office party drunk and forgetting to lock up
5. Serious health and safety violations - it might seem like a great idea to try out knife-throwing skills learnt on YouTube by putting an apple on Janet from HR's head, but imagine the paperwork if you tried to do it in the office normally
6. Serious incapacity at work due to alcohol or drugs - for example coming into work drunk from the night before, especially if your job required you to drive or operate machinery.

Martina added: "However, what constitutes grounds for dismissal often depends on the organisation. For example breach of confidentiality could be grounds for dismissal in a government agency where as it may not be for someone working in a coffee shop."

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