Companies often hold team-building events or have parties that take place outside the workplace. Some employees travel with colleagues as part of their job – for instance, to visit a client or attend a trade show or conference.
Some employees dislike these events intensely due to an often increased risk of sexual harassment when away from the stricter environment of the office or other type of workplace. Why is the risk higher?
Alcohol is often a factor
A weekend’s team-building event may involve time spent together in the bar at night as important as the daytime activities. Wining and dining an important client over lunch may be part of the company’s sales strategy. And when it comes to the holiday party, many employees would refuse to attend if there were not at least some free alcohol available.
People often feel less inhibited when they are away from the office, and even more so after consuming alcohol. This can cause them to do and say things that they would know better than to try when in their usual workplace or when sober.
Why it needs to be reported
If you go to your employer with a complaint about what one of your colleagues or someone in a senior position did or said to you during an off-site event, they may try to tell you that it’s not their responsibility. That is not how the law sees it, however.
Having to go back to work with this person will likely be an unpleasant experience for you, and can make for what is known in employment law terms as a “hostile work environment”. Whether someone harasses you in or out of work, it can still make going to work uncomfortable, and the law expects employers to maintain a working environment where all employees feel safe.
Many people do not realize that employers have a duty to investigate and respond appropriately to complaints about employee sexual harassment even if it occurs outside the workplace, so they don’t report it. If you do report it, but nothing is done or you face retaliation as a result, it can help to get experienced legal guidance to review your options.