Christmas and New Year working arrangements 2010/11: key findings

Employment law considerations often take a back seat when employers plan their Christmas and New Year working arrangements, latest XpertHR Benchmarking research reveals. 

The XpertHR benchmarking survey of Christmas and New Year working arrangements - conducted in October 2010 - is based on responses from 111 organisations. 

Chart 1

The survey finds that a majority of organisations are failing to put behaviour policies in place for seasonal celebrations. And still more employers are not acting in accordance with legislation to prevent religious discrimination. 

Key findings include:

  • Two-thirds of employers do not have a policy in place setting out the standard of acceptable behaviour expected of employees at the work Christmas party. Employers may be held indirectly liable for harm caused to other employees or third parties by the negligent acts of their employees in the course of their employment. 
  • Nearly nine in 10 (86.5%) respondents say they do not make formal provisions to enable those who do not celebrate Christmas to opt out of celebrations. Employers should ensure that Christmas party arrangements (such as choice of venue or catering arrangements) do not indirectly discriminate against employees of a particular religion or belief. 
  • Half of employers (51%) count days on which they are closed over the Christmas and New Year period (excluding Bank Holidays) as part of an employees' basic leave entitlement. A further two-fifths (38%) count them as "company days" or extra-statutory days on top of basic annual leave. Employers have to be able to justify requiring staff to take annual leave over the Christmas period or potentially face indirect religious discrimination claims from employees of religions other than Christianity. While an employer is likely to be able to justify this requirement on the grounds that it is not feasible to operate over the Christmas period (for example, because custom is limited), it should take a flexible approach where possible. 
  • Three-quarters of organisations do not make provision for members of faiths other than Christianity to mark special religious festivals. 

Regarding Christmas celebrations, we found that:Chart 2

  • The most common way to celebrate Christmas at work is the company-wide party (at 48% of organisations), followed by departmental lunches (40%) and departmental parties (28%). 
  • Christmas-related spending (such as on parties, lunches, gifts and bonuses) is down when compared with last year. 
  • Although the majority of work Christmas celebrations pass without incident, 7% of employers say that problems did arise at their last work Christmas party or meal, indicating the need for a behaviour policy. 

Key findings on Christmas and New Year working arrangements include:

  • More than one-third (38.7%) of respondents require some employees to be available for call-out over the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays. 
  • A further three in 10 (30.6%) require some staff to be on standby over this period. 

Additional resources on XpertHR

XpertHR Benchmarking subscribers can access the full results data from this survey. 

Alcohol misuse: Alcohol misuse during the Christmas period: case study; Alcohol misuse during the Christmas period: employers' checklist; and Alcohol misuse during the Christmas period: overview. 

Work-related social events: Appearance and behaviour policy and a model statement to send to employees in advance of the event. 

Read religion or belief discrimination FAQs from XpertHR's FAQ service.