Employment Issues Arising Over the Christmas Period

For some businesses, the Christmas period in employment can be a hectic time; for others, it may be a time when business gets quiet. Either way, it can change the way you typically run your workplace. Employment issues can arise over the Christmas period is therefore important to identify potential issues before they arise to minimise any legal risks to your business. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about typical employment issues arising over the Christmas period in England. 

Clarifying Holiday Entitlement Over the Christmas Entitlement 

You should clarify how much holiday your staff are entitled to during the holiday period. You should ideally specify this information in your workplace policies. If you intend to restrict holidays during the festive season, you may wish to incorporate your right to do so in any relevant employment contracts.

In general, your employees do not have any rights to take off holidays during the Christmas period. Moreover, you can obligate your employees to work during bank holidays, including Christmas Day. You can, for instance, impose a blanket ban on all holidays during the period. 

You also have a right to require your employees to take a portion of their entitled holidays during the Christmas period. However, you should ensure that you give your staff adequate notice when they must take these days as holiday. As a general rule, the notice period should be twice as long as the number of days you require your employees to take. For instance, if you wish to close your workplace for a week, you should inform them of this no less than two weeks in advance. 

Cultural Sensitivity During the Christmas Period 

Not everyone celebrates Christmas. This may be due to religious, cultural, ethnic, or personal reasons. As an employer, it is important to bear this in mind. At worst, you may engage in conduct that constitutes unlawful discrimination. For instance, you cannot obligate your employees to attend a Christmas party, as the law may consider this religious discrimination, which is unlawful. 

You must also ensure that your workplace is free from any discrimination. Therefore, if your staff are creating a workplace environment that risks discriminating against certain employees unlawfully, you must take action. 

Ensuring Consistent Compliance With Workplace Policies During the Christmas Period 

As Christmas is a time of celebrations, you or your staff may host festive parties during and outside of work.  In either case, the law may consider these events as part of the working environment. Therefore, if any unlawful conduct happens during the event, as an employer, you could be held liable.  

It is essential, therefore, that you make sure your staff are clear that during these events, you expect your employees to adhere to your policies and procedures. If they fail to do so, they may face discipline. 

Particular issues to watch out for include:

• drink driving;
• harassment allegations;
• threatening behaviour; and 
• violence.

Manage Absence During the Christmas Period 

Absences are common during the Christmas period. This may be due to:

• seasonal illnesses like the common cold, flu, and coronavirus circulating at higher rates;
• hangovers due to excessive festive drinking; or 
• sickness absences used for other purposes. 

Therefore, you must ensure your absence policy is up to date and remind your employees about this. It should contain the procedures they must undergo when taking time off work absent, including during the Christmas period. The policies should specify where absence is unauthorised, you may treat such conduct as a disciplinary matter.

Key Takeaways

Festive as it is, the Christmas period can create certain problems in your workplace. As an employer, it is vital to identify the issues that are likely to emerge so you can mitigate their impact on your business. 

If you need help understanding typical employment issues arising over the Christmas period in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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