Where does host responsibility end?

It’s a ritual in workplaces up and down the country each Friday night, reports Katarina Williams.

Sharing an informal glass of wine with colleagues can be a way for employees to get to know each other without the gnawing of office deadlines and a constant stream of meetings.

But what happens when a low-key workplace function descends into a drunken escapade where the lines of acceptability are blurred?

Is an employer culpable if a worker over-indulges and does something irresponsible – or even worse – illegal?

Police say alcohol is ‘‘the most common recreational drug in New Zealand’’, with more than a third of all offences being committed by people under its influence.

Dundas St Employment Lawyers managing partner Susan Hornsby-Geluk says employers are responsible for what happens in their workplaces.

That duty of care extended to workplace functions where alcohol was being served.

But in the majority of cases, an employee’s conduct was no longer the employer’s responsibility once the function had ended and the worker had left the work environment.

‘‘An exception to this might be if an employer is aware that an employee is intending to drive home drunk or leaves the premises in an unsafe manner.

‘‘Aside from this, employees are responsible for their own actions outside work, regardless of where they consumed the alcohol in the first place,’’ HornsbyGeluk says.

The Health Promotion Agency says problems with excessive consumption at work are more likely to arise when a lot of free or inexpensive alcohol is on offer, when food is not provided and when employees are drinking quickly.

Workplace culture also plays a part, particularly in organisations where getting drunk is acceptable, as well as when drinking occurs during work hours, the agency says.

Hospitality New Zealand Wellington branch president Jeremy Smith says, technically, workplaces are not allowed to provide free alcohol to staff without a liquor licence.

‘‘The law doesn’t make sense and it’s an unintended consequence . . . but a lot of workplaces and offices do inadvertently break the law.

‘‘So, what’s their way around it? They get someone with a caterer’s licence to come in, run it as a licensed premises and that organisation will take responsibility for providing alcohol.’’

Hornsby-Geluk says there have been cases where workers congregate at a bar off-site. While employers may not have arranged the gathering, if a worker’s conduct brought the company into disrepute, the employee could still face sanctions.

‘‘If the employer’s image and reputation is damaged as a result of the connection to the employee’s actions, disciplinary action can occur.’’

Smith says bars and restaurants regularly have to turn away people who have over-indulged at boozy office parties. ‘‘Often on a Friday at sort of 7 o’clock, people don’t necessarily take kindly to being told they can’t come into one of our businesses with their mates. And it does create unnecessary tension.’’