Planning a Staff Party?

The law is well settled that employers may be liable for harm caused when employees drink at the workplace or in connection with work. But what about social activities?

Earlier this year an Ontario Superior Court judge ordered a company to pay an employee over $300,000 after she drank too much at a Christmas party held at the workplace during business hours. The woman suffered severe physical and brain injuries when she crashed into another vehicle while driving home. The employer has appealed the verdict.

There was an open, unsupervised bar at the company party. A manager, worried that the woman was drunk, said he would call her husband if she continued to drink. Despite this, the woman took the wheel to drive home alone with a BAC twice the legal limit. She then had two more drinks at a pub.

From a legal standpoint, this case confirms that:

• employers have a duty to safeguard their employees from harm, beyond the time the employee is on the premises;
• employers must ensure, by taking positive steps, that employees do not get drunk and then drive home; and
• the positive steps include monitoring alcohol consumption.

Offering free taxi rides is not enough. An employer who suspects impairment must insist the individual take a cab and not drive.

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