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Kris Kringle

  • 19-12-2013 10:16am
    #1
    swimming in a sea
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 937 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    I was wondering is there anything to worry about for a company if its employees are doing Kris Kringle? If there was a "present" deemed racist\homophobic etc. given to an employee, since its anonymous it could be very difficult to find the culprit so does this make the employer liable for any possible consequences?


Comments

  • #2
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,998 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    No. Or, at least, not the first time it happens.

    It's an employer's duty to provide a workplace and work environment free of (among other things) bullying, harrassment, etc. But this doesn't mean that they have to absolutely guarantee that there will never be a problem and that they are liable if there is a problem. It means they have to take reasonable steps to see that a problem doesn't arise (by having explicit codes of conduct, proper training, setting clear expectations of behaviour, etc) and they have to respond reasonably when a problem does arise (with appropriate disciplinary measures, etc).

    I don't think anybody would expect that, if a Kris Kringle happens, people will use the opportunity to make anymous homophobic gestures, and nobody will say that merely by allowing a Kris Kringle and employer was negligent with respect to the possibility of such a think happening. And of course when it does happen, they can't discipline the offender because they don't know who it is.

    What they can do is to make it clear that this behavour is unacceptable, and that if the offender is identified it will be a disciplinary matter. And, if the problem has happened once, they would be wise not to allow a Kris Kringle the following year, if only as a marker of how seriously they view the matter.


  • #3
    wicorthered
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 730 ✭✭✭wicorthered


    I'd imagine it would be very easy to find the culprit!


  • #4
    Bepolite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,737 ✭✭✭Bepolite


    Is Kris Kringle itself an issue, given people might not be Christians... I'm only half joking.


  • #5
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,998 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Well, in response to the half of you that's not joking, I think you should be OK. The custom of exchange presents at this time of the year has long transcended Christianity, and if you head over to the Atheism and Agnosticism board I suspect you'll find that lots of them are very happy to give and get gifts.

    You could have a problem if you badge the thing in an excessively Christian way. And you could have a problem with, say, a Jehovah's Witness - they make a particular point of not celebrating Christmas. So I think the Kris Kringle needs to be organised in a way which makes it very clear that participation is entirely optional.


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