Time for a (Christmas) party

Company parties and work injuries

Typically, an injury is only a work injury if the accident occurs at work, at the workplace, and during working hours. However, it can often be unclear whether it is a work injury when the injury occurs during a Christmas party or other social events.

In a specific case, it was a work injury when an employee fell and hit his head on the dance floor. The court emphasized that the employee participated in the company event, which lasted several days, as part of his work. Besides that, the court found that the company event included both professional and social elements and that the boss was present at the time of the accident.

In another case, it was also considered a work injury when a drunk employee fell on the stairs and needed to go to the emergency room to get stitches during a Christmas party. The party was voluntary, but the company had encouraged all employees to attend. It was also emphasized that the Christmas party was planned and paid for by the company.

Oppositely, an accident that occurred during a sack race organized by an employee association was not a work injury. This was because the company was not the organizer, had no influence on the activities, and had not acted negligently.

The decisions show that it is important to be aware of who is listed as the organizer of the Christmas party and who pays for the party.

What happens privately stays private – or does it?

Even when the Christmas party is held privately, incidents can have consequences for the employment under certain circumstances.

In one case, an employee slapped a colleague at a private party. The Danish High Court found that the summary dismissal of the violent employee was unjustified, as the slap happened privately and was not work-related. On the other hand, a termination would have been justified, as the two employees already had problems working together.

In another case, some colleagues from a residential home attended a private party. During the party, one of the employees poured beer in a colleague's hair and verbally abused a second colleague. He also punched a colleague's spouse in the face. The summary dismissal was justified because the employee's actions were so serious, even though the incident happened in private.

The decisions show that cooperation issues do not have to take place in the office. And that actions during time off can make a termination without notice and with notice legal, depending on the severity.  

Christmas is a celebration for the hearts

Christmas parties can be merry, but the employees' advances towards each other can have consequences for their employment. For example, an employee was terminated after he put his hand on a female colleague's thigh and sliding it up between her legs at a company event. The company had clear rules to avoid sexual harassment, and the employee had previously received a warning for inappropriate language. Therefore, the termination was justified.

It went horribly wrong at another company event when an employee ended up sleeping with the boss's wife. Later, when the boss found out, the employee was terminated. The termination was justified because the employee could assume that sleeping with the boss's wife would cause significant cooperation difficulties.

IUNO's opinion

With these wise words, we encourage everyone to look after each other out there, and we hope you have a great Christmas (party).