When employers think of the holiday season, often their attention is focused on bringing forward the December payday and the tax implications of parties.
However, with regards parties and social events, the Global Payroll Association would like to draw attention to another important consideration for employers, one more relevant at Christmas perhaps. This is the duty of care obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Northern Ireland equivalent. There are two fundamental duties imposed:
- A general duty on the worker to ensure they take reasonable care whilst at work. This extends to the care of colleagues who may be impacted by their actions
- A duty of care on the employer to their workers in the course of their employment
By default of the “in the course of employment”, both duties actually extend beyond the workplace, especially organised workplace activities and functions such as the staff party. An important area to focus on by both worker and employer is that of driving whilst under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. It is also worth considering that the rules are not the same in all parts of the UK.
Drink Driving
The drink driving limits in Scotland are tougher that the other countries in the UK and were amended downwards from the 5th of December 2014 to make them aligned with other European countries as follows:
- Breath - 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath (22 in Scotland)
- Blood - 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood (50 in Scotland)
- Urine - 107 milligrammes per 100 milligrammes of urine (67 in Scotland)
Of course, employers should not attempt to give advice on the amount of alcohol one person can drink as one person varies from the next.
Drug Driving
In the UK it is unlawful to drive if you are incapable of doing so because of drugs, legal or illegal. In England and Wales it is unlawful to drive with legal drugs in the body if they are over specified limits. This applies to prescription drugs as well and perhaps it is responsible to make drivers aware of this and point them to guidance on the gov.uk website.
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Any party should be for the purpose of having a good time but a safe and legal time as well. This is probably more the case when leaving a party, though the worker and employer duty of care applies whilst at the party as well.
Enjoy your Christmas parties as we deserve to celebrate the hard work we do in payroll. But do bear the above in mind and note that this duty of care applies to any function that the employer may facilitate – the duty of care is for the life of employment, not just Christmas.
When employers think of the holiday season, often their attention is focused on bringing forward the December payday and the tax implications of parties.
However, with regards parties and social events, the Global Payroll Association would like to draw attention to another important consideration for employers, one more relevant at Christmas perhaps. This is the duty of care obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Northern Ireland equivalent. There are two fundamental duties imposed:
- A general duty on the worker to ensure they take reasonable care whilst at work. This extends to the care of colleagues who may be impacted by their actions
- A duty of care on the employer to their workers in the course of their employment
By default of the “in the course of employment”, both duties actually extend beyond the workplace, especially organised workplace activities and functions such as the staff party. An important area to focus on by both worker and employer is that of driving whilst under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. It is also worth considering that the rules are not the same in all parts of the UK.
Drink Driving
The drink driving limits in Scotland are tougher that the other countries in the UK and were amended downwards from the 5th of December 2014 to make them aligned with other European countries as follows:
- Breath - 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath (22 in Scotland)
- Blood - 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood (50 in Scotland)
- Urine - 107 milligrammes per 100 milligrammes of urine (67 in Scotland)
Of course, employers should not attempt to give advice on the amount of alcohol one person can drink as one person varies from the next.
Drug Driving
In the UK it is unlawful to drive if you are incapable of doing so because of drugs, legal or illegal. In England and Wales it is unlawful to drive with legal drugs in the body if they are over specified limits. This applies to prescription drugs as well and perhaps it is responsible to make drivers aware of this and point them to guidance on the gov.uk website.
-------------
Any party should be for the purpose of having a good time but a safe and legal time as well. This is probably more the case when leaving a party, though the worker and employer duty of care applies whilst at the party as well.
Enjoy your Christmas parties as we deserve to celebrate the hard work we do in payroll. But do bear the above in mind and note that this duty of care applies to any function that the employer may facilitate – the duty of care is for the life of employment, not just Christmas.