From merriment to misconduct: preventing sexual harassment in the workplace during the festive party season

The festive season is fast approaching, and many organisations will be in the midst of planning end of year parties for their staff before the holiday period starts.

This is, for many, a time for celebration; during which employers reward their staff, and colleagues socialise in a more informal setting.

That’s great! What’s the problem?

Sometimes these festivities can result in inappropriate behaviour – particularly at social events where there is alcohol involved – and merriment can turn into misconduct, including sexual harassment.

For employment law purposes, sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for them. This can encompass a range of behaviours, from inappropriate jokes and innuendos to unwanted physical advances. Conduct can constitute sexual harassment where it is intended by the perpetrator, but also where it is reasonably considered as such by the victim (even if that wasn’t the perpetrator’s intention).

But surely that doesn’t happen very often?

Some may assume that, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, and following the introduction in October 2024 of a legal obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment at the office party is less likely to occur. However, that is, unfortunately, not necessarily the case.

A report in September 2025 by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (“ACAS”) highlighted that there has been a 39% increase in calls to its helpline, relating to sexual harassment in the workplace, in the past year. There have also been a number of high-profile cases in the media, including:

• In January 2025, McDonalds fired 29 members of staff over allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace.
• In August 2025, Lidl signed a legal agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) to prevent sexual harassment in its workplace, after allegations were raised.
• In October 2025, a Unite poll found an “epidemic of workplace sexual harassment” at Cardiff Council.

Clearly, sexual harassment in the workplace remains a live issue for many organisations, which leads to both reputational damage and legal liability, and needs to be tackled head-on. The festive season, with its social events and parties, can create an environment in which such issues are exacerbated, or come to the fore.

Ok, so what are organisations legally required to do?

Staff are afforded legal protection from, and employers are liable for, sexual harassment in the workplace, under the Equality Act 2010. In the event that sexual harassment does occur, employees can bring claims for compensation in the Employment Tribunal.

In addition, since the introduction of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 in October 2024, employers have been under an express legal duty to proactively take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace before it occurs (the “Duty”). Failure to do so can result not only in reputational damage and legal liability for any sexual harassment which has taken place, but also in an uplift of up to 25% to any financial compensation subsequently awarded by an Employment Tribunal. In addition, the EHRC also has the power to take enforcement action against, and name and shame, organisations who do not comply. You can read more about the Duty here.

The Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”), which is currently making its way through Parliament, is due to introduce further provisions aimed at strengthening the Duty – requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This is obviously a higher threshold than the current Duty to take reasonable steps, meaning that greater preventative measures will be expected in order to comply.

Further government regulations will be drafted shortly, to provide details of the steps that may be considered to be reasonable to take in order to comply with the Duty, but it is already widely anticipated that the steps we have set out in more detail below will likely be necessary.

The ERB will also explicitly introduce provisions requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment of all kinds (not just sexual harassment) by third parties; such as clients, customers, service users, contractors, etc. These changes shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that many have already assumed that the current Duty already implicitly applies to third party harassment.

But surely employers aren’t liable if something goes wrong at a social event outside of work hours?

Employers will be liable for sexual harassment that takes place “in the course of employment”, which is broadly interpreted. This can include at work-related social events such as office parties, after work drinks in the pub, colleagues sharing cabs home together, as well as via social media channels and text / WhatsApp messages.

Sounds like the nightmare before Christmas, should we just cancel the office party?

No! There is no need to be quite so Grinchy. Festive office parties can be a well-earned opportunity to unwind and reflect on the preceding year’s hard work, and a great boost to staff cohesion and morale, where they are well organised and appropriate preventative steps taken beforehand.

Clearly, having carefully drafted guidelines in place, which set clear expectations around appropriate conduct and are consistently implemented and communicated to staff in advance, is essential. Organisations should make sure that they:

• have clear anti-harassment policies and procedures;
• carry out regular risk assessments;
• provide regular staff training on the issue;
• have effective reporting mechanisms;
• promptly respond to any complaints; and
• carry out regular reviews to ensure that anti-harassment measures put in place are meeting objectives.

Ahead of the office party season it would be worth considering the following specific steps:

• reminding all staff of the standards of behaviour expected at social events;
• reiterating the organisation’s non-tolerance of sexual harassment;
• risk assessing particular circumstances / events, and putting in place measures to mitigate risks identified – e.g., tasking certain colleagues with remaining in control of / looking after their teams, and staying until the end of events to ensure that everyone leaves safely; and
• ensuring that colleagues are aware that they will, in all circumstances, be supported in any action that they take to remove themselves from a situation of harassment, and that they know who they can report this to at the time (as well as subsequently, under the organisation’s processes).

Both ACAS and the EHRC have helpful guides on the steps organisations can take to prevent sexual harassment in their workplaces. These can be found here (ACAS), here (EHRC guide 1) and here (EHRC guide 2). We have also published guidance, which can be found here, and training for managers, which can be found here.

By being prepared, employers can ensure that the festive season remains enjoyable for everyone, whilst also upholding their commitment to protecting staff and eradicating harassment.

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues outlined in this article, please get in touch and our team of experienced Employment lawyers would be happy to help.

The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice upon which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please do contact the Bates Wells team if you require further advice or information about management training which we offer.