Terminated employees @ Holiday Party?!
Sue Heyen
12 Posts
We hold a "post-Holiday" party for our employees each January at an off-site location (hotel). Employees and their spouse or one guest are invited to the party at no cost to them. A meal and DJ are provided as well as fun games for small cash prizes. We hear that an ex-employee (who we terminated for falling asleep at work, multiple times)will be a guest of a current employee. We would hope that the current employee would have better judgement. However, as a business do we have the right to say that no ex-employees are allowed to attend as a guest or would that be considered discrimination?
We had this circumstance before at a summer picnic that was planned, but the picnic got cancelled so we didn't have to address it (in that case the ex-employee had been terminated due to sexual harrassment). Thanks for any guidance you can provide!
We had this circumstance before at a summer picnic that was planned, but the picnic got cancelled so we didn't have to address it (in that case the ex-employee had been terminated due to sexual harrassment). Thanks for any guidance you can provide!
Comments
But why even go there?
If you tell employees that they can invite one guest, then let it be that way. You don't want to be deciding which guest is worthy and which isn't. If an employee invited a an ex-convict who is a friend, would you bar him from coming? What would you tell the employee? Is the issue the fact that the indiviudal is a FORMER employee or was discharged for wrongdoing or did something of which the employer does not approve?
If the former, do you really want to give a message to long term emplyees who retire or leave under pleasant circumstances that they are not welcome at a compnay "get-together for the holidays" that is otherwise available to individuals who have NO connection (other than a friend) to the company?
If the latter, let's say an employee who is currently suspended as disciplinary action a serious issue such as sexual harassment or being intoxicated on the job shows up? Do you exclude that employee from attending?
As long as your criterion is an employee can invite a guest, then that's the way it should be. Or avoid the problem by limiting the attendeees to the employee and his or her spouse (or do you want to say "significant others" and make a statement on the morality aspects involved with that?).
I don't know if this helps, but it seems to have worked for us.
A current employee was going to bring a former employee (that I fired) as a guest to this year's Holiday Party. Nothing can be done in that instance. Just poor judgment on the part of the current employee. The former employee did not show up. We do invite former employees to our Holiday Party. However, I look at the Holiday Party list every year and if a former employee has badmouthed us they are not invited.
Happy New Year!
Sharon K.
As an additional note, you might not want to have a blanket policy that says spouses and significant others are permitted. We had one VP (female) whose husband got so drunk at our holiday party that he was reaching down some of the women's dresses (that worked for her) and "gringing" against them when he danced with them. I talked with her and told her that she was responsible for his behavior and that if it happened again, he would be barred from attending company functions. Your handbook should have a personal conduct policy to cover people's behavior while at company functions and make them responsible for their guest's behavior as well. Under the same policy, we barred the wife of an employee from attending further company functions when we saw her stealing beers from the hotel's cash bar when the bartender was busy with the other employees. Strange, but true! I'll be glad to send you the personal conduct language for your handbook if you like.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
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