With Halloween just around the corner, here’s three frightful mistakes for businesses to avoid.
Forgetting employees have many different views and beliefs about Halloween
For some, Halloween is a bit of fun and a chance to dress up, whereas for others it may be more serious, or they may not like Halloween. Whatever someone’s views, it’s important that all employees are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.
Bear in mind that in some circumstances, what employees may see as a joke or just a bit of banter, can cross the line into discrimination or harassment. For example, in Holland v Angel Supermarket Ltd a Wiccan employee requested to change her shift over Halloween so that she could celebrate All Hallows’ Eve. She claimed that she was later mocked by her employer and colleagues, who made jokes based around a stereotypical view of witches, which she found offensive. She was later dismissed by her employer, supposedly for financial reasons. The employee won her tribunal claims for sex discrimination and religion or belief discrimination and unfair dismissal and was awarded over £15,000 in compensation.
Ghosting’ some employees if you are having a work event
Whatever the occasion, if your business is having a social event don’t forget about employees who may be away from the workplace, for example because they are on maternity leave or predominantly work from home. It shouldn’t be a case of out of sight out of mind. If you are concerned about a situation in your business or you have an employee who is about to go on a period of leave, for example family leave, please get in touch for advice on your situation.
If you are considering having a workplace event to mark Halloween, remember to be sensitive to all employees as it is important that nobody is made to feel uncomfortable.
Getting stuck in a time warp
This is a busy year for employment law with a number of significant changes having already come into force and future changes being proposed. It’s important to ensure your business keeps up to date and doesn’t inadvertently fall foul of the law. Make sure you are up to speed with changes to date, such as those to flexible working, paternity leave, carers leave and the new sexual harassment preventative duty. We’ll be keeping you up to date with further developments, such as those relating to the Employment Bill, so keep an eye on your inbox.