Many workplaces enjoy functions where alcohol is served, but
some recent decisions establish that if an employer permits the
alcohol to flow freely, then it may have to wear the liability for
any inappropriate behaviour its intoxicated employees get up to. If
there is an accident, the employer may also be found to have
breached its duty of care and be liable for damages. In such a
situation, the employer's insurance policy may not apply. So it
is now time to reassess how you manage your workplace functions,
particularly if alcohol is involved.
Unfair dismissal
Keenan v Leighton Boral Amey Joint Venture
[2015] FWC 3156 (26 June 2015)
The Fair Work Commission heard an unfair dismissal case
involving an intoxicated male employee who sexually harassed other
employees. The harassment included persistently asking an employee
for her phone number, telling another she was a "Stuck up
b****" and another "Who the f*** are you? What
do you even do here?". The intoxicated
