Time for a (Christmas) party
The season for the annual Lucia fika, Christmas dinner, and Christmas party is here. In this newsletter, you can read about whether a punch to the face is grounds for termination and how much a romantic encounter at the Christmas party can cost the company.
Drunken mishaps
Christmas parties can go merrily, but conflicts between colleagues can result in employment-related sanctions. In one case, an employee was summarily dismissed after he verbally threatened and physically abused his manager. The incident happened at the company’s Christmas dinner where the employee had consumed a lot of alcohol and started to act inappropriately toward female colleagues. The employee started to point a laser pointer toward the colleagues and point it in a sexual way. When the manager tried to intervene, the employee attacked him. The Labour Court found that the summary dismissal of the violent employee was justified.
In a similar case, things also went completely wrong at a company event where an employee punched his manager in the face. During the party, the employee found that the manager was aggressive. Later, the two of them found themselves in the bathroom where the employee suddenly thought the manager would punch him. In self-defence, the employee punched the manager twice. However, the court found that the manager had fixed his fly, so the punches came as a complete surprise. The court found that a summary dismissal of the employee was justified. The fact that the party was held outside normal working hours did not matter as the incident was employment-related.
Christmas is the feast of hearts
Many are looking forward to their company Christmas party. However, romantic encounters at the party can also lead to employment-related consequences. For example, a CEO was found guilty of sexual harassment after he touched an employee’s thigh and put his hand between her legs at a company Christmas party. The employee resigned shortly afterwards because she felt bad about the situation. The court ordered the company to pay the employee SEK 50,000 in discrimination compensation.
IUNO’s opinion
With these wise words, we encourage everyone to take care of each other this jolly season. We wish you a good Christmas party.
Drunken mishaps
Christmas parties can go merrily, but conflicts between colleagues can result in employment-related sanctions. In one case, an employee was summarily dismissed after he verbally threatened and physically abused his manager. The incident happened at the company’s Christmas dinner where the employee had consumed a lot of alcohol and started to act inappropriately toward female colleagues. The employee started to point a laser pointer toward the colleagues and point it in a sexual way. When the manager tried to intervene, the employee attacked him. The Labour Court found that the summary dismissal of the violent employee was justified.
In a similar case, things also went completely wrong at a company event where an employee punched his manager in the face. During the party, the employee found that the manager was aggressive. Later, the two of them found themselves in the bathroom where the employee suddenly thought the manager would punch him. In self-defence, the employee punched the manager twice. However, the court found that the manager had fixed his fly, so the punches came as a complete surprise. The court found that a summary dismissal of the employee was justified. The fact that the party was held outside normal working hours did not matter as the incident was employment-related.
Christmas is the feast of hearts
Many are looking forward to their company Christmas party. However, romantic encounters at the party can also lead to employment-related consequences. For example, a CEO was found guilty of sexual harassment after he touched an employee’s thigh and put his hand between her legs at a company Christmas party. The employee resigned shortly afterwards because she felt bad about the situation. The court ordered the company to pay the employee SEK 50,000 in discrimination compensation.
IUNO’s opinion
With these wise words, we encourage everyone to take care of each other this jolly season. We wish you a good Christmas party.
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Anders
Etgen Reitz
PartnerSimilar
The team
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Alexandra
Jensen
Legal advisor![](/media/1978/siddende_pige.png)
Alma
Winsløw-Lydeking
Junior legal assistant![](/media/25075/anders_siddende_2023.png)
Anders
Etgen Reitz
Partner![](/media/30395/caroline_siddende_2024.png)
Caroline
Thorsen
Junior legal assistant![](/media/11419/cecillie_siddende_2020.png)
Cecillie
Groth Henriksen
Senior associate![](/media/21236/johan_siddende_2022.png)
Johan
Gustav Dein
Associate![](/media/18082/julie_siddende_2021.png)
Julie
Meyer
Senior legal assistant![](/media/23074/kirsten_siddende_2023.png)
Kirsten
Astrup
Managing associate (on leave)![](/media/30412/maria_siddende_2024.png)
Maria
Kjærsgaard Juhl
Legal advisor![](/media/1978/siddende_pige.png)
Rikke
Grønlund Holm
Senior associate![](/media/5127/sofie_siddende_2019.png)
Sofie
Aurora Braut Bache
Managing associate![](/media/2026/soeren_siddende_2018.png)