LEGAL VIEW: Don't let events get out of hand

Holding an event is a great way for businesses to grow through networking, creating new links and encouraging collaboration. They can also be fun.

Whether it is an awards ceremony, business breakfast event or even a Curry Club, events could be a headache for business owners if they are not aware of the latest legislation.

However, the responsibility now lies with event organisers to clearly communicate expectations around behaviour, including what constitutes
harassment or other inappropriate conduct.

This is critical not only to protect employees, as required under the new legislation, but also to safeguard all attendees.

One of the most recent of those pieces is the Employment Rights Bill 2024, published in October, which refers to the duty of employers
to prevent sexual harassment.

In essence, if your staff are harassed by a third party on the site at an event and you haven’t taken all reasonable steps to prevent that, including issuing guidance to visitors, then you as the employer have failed in your responsibility.

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce has now created a new code of conduct for all visitors, members and guests to all their events.

Miranda Barker, chief executive officer of the chamber, says: “Given the nature of our business and the potential risks associated with semi-social events where alcohol is served, we’ve introduced a new code of conduct.

"This applies to all members and attendees at our events, regardless of whether we’ve met them before or not. By doing so, we aim to create a
safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for everyone involved.”

Lisa Sourbutts, managing director of Burnley based Cube HR, says: “When it comes to holding an event, employers are at times unaware of their ‘vicarious liability’ for the actions of their employees.

“They often believe that because the event is outside of work time or isn’t held at the company premises that they don’t have any liability.

“This belief is misheld and the consequences of an employee’s misconduct or negligence can have serious implications for a business
including legal action, financial losses and reputational damage.

“A number of tribunal cases, where employees have been injured due to acts of violence or have been harassed by a colleague, have found
in favour of the employee and have resulted in significant compensation awards.

“In addition, a recent change to the Equality Act 2010 placed a new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

“Under this amendment employers should try to pre-empt any issues and be proactive in preventing sexual harassment by colleagues and third parties.

“In terms of work events employers should therefore consider what issues may arise and what they can do to stop them from happening
in the first place.

“That could include training for staff which outlines their responsibilities, communicating the company policy and conducting a risk assessment to eliminate problems, for example, is a free bar really a good idea and could it lead to problems of harassment and potentially
other issues relating to employee conduct?

“If employers fail to comply with their responsibilities any tribunal compensation award for sexual harassment can be uplifted by up to 25 per cent and the Equality and Human Rights Commission can also take enforcement action against the business.

“It is crucial therefore that employers understand the issue of vicarious liability and actively take steps to protect themselves for the good of their business and their employees.”

Catherine McNabb, corporate account executive at PIB Insurance Brokers, says there are numerous ways in which an employer can be vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.

She says: “This can include harassment or misconduct, for example if an employee harasses a colleague, or another attendee at a corporate event, whether the employer organised this or not.

“It is worth pointing out that the recently published Employment Rights Bill 2024, amongst other things, will impose additional duties on employers expanding their duties to prevent harassment of staff.

"Failure to update and review company policies around this could bring about additional exposure.

“Also, if an employee fails to setup equipment properly and this results in an injury to an attendee or another employee, again the employer could be held vicariously liable in these circumstances.

“Or, another example could be where an employer provides alcohol at an event which leads to an employee drinking excessively, resulting in an incident where the employer could be held responsible.”

Businesses can reduce the risk of vicarious liability attaching and
create safer, more enjoyable events, by proactive risk management.

It is always important to ensure adequate insurance solutions such as Public Liability and Employment Practices Liability are in place to dovetail with these policies and procedures.

Jade McEvoy, people consultant at Preston based employment law, HR and health and safety firm AfterAthena, says there are ways to protect businesses.

These include establishing clear policies and putting out pre-event reminders.

She says: “Develop and communicate comprehensive policies outlining expected behaviour standards at all workplace events.

“Remind staff that, whilst we want them to have a great time, these policies remain applicable at work events, informal or formal, and must be complied with.”

And she adds: “For planned work social events, a risk assessment of the risk, particularly sexual harassment, should be conducted with a view to identifying measures to put in place to mitigate the risks identified such as a restriction on amount of alcohol consumed courtesy of the employer.”

Training can also play its part. She advises businesses to offer regular sessions on equality, diversity, and inclusion, emphasising ‘respect at work’ and harassment prevention.

Other measures include assigning individuals who can act as contacts for the confidential reporting of concerns and having supervisors discreetly monitoring events and overseeing conduct.

She adds that it is important to act promptly and to take appropriate measures to address any complaints.