Each year we publish a reminder about the run up to Christmas which, of course, is a great time for salon parties and, inevitably perhaps, more than a little alcohol will be consumed between now and the New Year. Without wishing to put a dampener on the festivities, we must remind salons of their Duty of Care towards all employees, especially young employees under the age of 18.
In law, sole responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of all employees who attend work-related events rests with the employer. A work-related event may range from the salon manager cracking open a bottle of wine or two after work, to a formal Christmas party held outside of work. Regardless of the nature of the event, if the invitation ‘to attend’, whether implicit or explicit has come from the salon owner or manager, the event is classed as work-related, and attendance is deemed to be ‘in the course of employment’. For this reason, the salon owner or manager remains responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all employees involved.
A risk assessment will quickly highlight the obvious dangers of young people under the age of 18 drinking alcohol and although you may consider the risks low, the salon has a duty of care to ensure such risks are removed altogether wherever possible. The simplest way of accomplishing this is to impose a total ban on all under-18 employees drinking alcohol. This is the only way that a salon owner or manager can ensure that young people are not placed at risk during salon parties.
Some simple guidelines to follow to protect the salon and all employees include:
- Add a clause in your contract of employment that sets out your salon’s policy on employees under18 attending work-related events where alcohol is available.
- Write and inform under-18s that they are not allowed to drink alcohol at any work-related event where alcohol is available.
- Write to the parents/guardians of employees under 18 and inform them of your salon policy and their own role in ensuring under 18s do not consume alcohol at work-related events.
- Remind all employees over 18 of the salon policy and ask for their support.
- Provide non-alcoholic alternatives for under 18’s at any work-related event.
- At events, keep a close watch to ensure under 18s are acting responsibly.