Holiday tips for the work place
Published 12/09/05

Workers and employers alike must remain responsible and professional throughout the holiday season. If your company sponsors a holiday party, it is extremely important to remember to exhibit at the party the same good judgment, discretion, and professionalism you exhibit at work.

While the party is a time to relax and socialize with your co-workers, including superiors or subordinates, it is certainly not a time to over indulge in alcohol consumption.

It is important to remember that your co-workers will be watching you and you have the potential of losing a great deal of respect and perhaps even your job if you drink too much and thereby become uninhibited in action or in words.

Furthermore, a company should act to insure that people do not get intoxicated at the company party and then get behind the wheel of an automobile. Providing taxi service might be considered if alcohol is to be served.

The loss of a good worker due to alcohol-related injuries or a criminal alcohol charge is a high price to pay for a holiday event. Also if the company serves an intoxicated party patron more alcohol, it might be liable for any damage to others caused by the patron's drunk driving.

During the holiday season, it is also important for co-workers to have respect for each other's religious beliefs, including employers attempting to reasonably accommodate workers' work schedule for purposes of worker's legitimate requests for worship on a particular religious holiday. It is incumbent on the worker to give as much advance notice as possible to the employer and be prepared to support his or her contention that the request is based upon truly religious reasons.

For employers who are considering terminating a worker's employment for a long-standing non-emergency performance problem, providing a worker a clear, final warning with a deadline to cure in January, often makes much more sense than terminating a worker during the holiday season. This is not only to ensure worker morale during the holidays but is also consistent with three general concepts to consider in dealings with personnel: fairness; diligence; and dignity.

Giving a worker a clear, final warning relative to a long-standing performance problem (rather than a serious act of misconduct) fits both into the concepts of fairness and diligence. It would be that much more difficult for a worker to claim that the performance-based reason for being terminated was pretextual and that the real reason for termination was for some prohibited purpose when the worker was given a chance to meet the employer's clearly expressed expectations but did not.

Finally, the more dignity you show a worker before terminating his employment, the less likely he is to pursue a legal claim which, meritless or not, can be costly to the company in legal fees and in lost productivity.

J. Daniel Marr is a director and shareholder at Hamblett & Kerrigan, P.A. His legal practice includes counseling businesses and business persons on a variety of legal issues, including employment, and advocating on their behalf. You can reach Attorney Marr by e-mail at: dmarr@hamker.com

This information is general information and may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. The information provided should not be relied upon as an indication of the actual state of the law or of future developments. The information contained on the Hamblett & Kerrigan website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If the information referenced may be of legal importance to you, you should consult with an attorney to provide you with legal guidance and opinion as the the effect of the current law upon your situation.