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Almost everyone in the UK will be getting ready for their work Christmas party this week, but for some people, the thought of getting drunk with colleagues is more appealing than others.
As enticing as the prospect of a free bar at work might sound for your Christmas party, it's important that you don't land yourself in trouble by drinking too much.
Some people are trying out a new drinking hack known as zebra striping to make sure they stay level-headed when with their bosses, and others are giving up booze entirely as more and more people embrace the idea of going sober before Dry January has even begun.
While a few drinks might well get the ladies dancing and the lords-a-leaping in the office, the last thing you want when you wake up is a HR message after the party, instead of a partridge in a pear tree.
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But that was the reality for one unlucky woman at last year's festive work event, with her actions landing herself in hot water rather than a boozy hot chocolate.
Molly shared a picture of the aftermath in a video on TikTok where a redacted email confirmed that her actions at the work party amounted to 'gross misconduct'. Unfortunately for her, she was still under probation at her job at the time and after an HR investigation, she was told not to come back.
Molly was told in the email that what she'd done 'amounts to gross misconduct', although some of the text was redacted, leaving us wondering what she actually did.
Hopefully Molly's found herself a new job and isn't planning anything similar for this year's party, but there will be plenty that end up in sticky situations over the next few days.
Fortunately, legal expert has given some solid advice on how to avoid waking up to something worse than a hangover after your work Christmas party.
Employment law expert Katherine Cook explained: “Christmas parties are work events so employers can be liable for employee actions during those events and employees can face disciplinary consequences for their actions.”
She added: “There is an obvious correlation between the amount of drinking that happens at an event and the number of problems experienced. Some of our clients who have scrapped their free bar policy have noticed a clear improvement in staff behaviour.”
It's also recommended that employers remind staff of their responsibilities at work events and that one senior member of staff should stay sober to keep an eye on things, but then that's not very Christmassy.
As long as you don't get too confident on karaoke, throw up or start shouting at your bosses, you're probably safe from any unwanted emails or videos the morning after, so please drink sensibly this Christmas time.
James Moorhouse