Business
If Santa Claus lived and worked in England…
16th December 2011
Elf and safety would be the least of his concerns, says Arj Arul, of Newbury law firm Mills & Bann
The festive season is upon us once again and one can be thankful that Saint Nicholas would have been burdened with far less red tape in his affairs than his modern day counterparts in across Europe.Being a sole trader is difficult at the best of times and, if Santa visited us over here, he might well operate fashionably as S. Claus LLP, or perhaps incorporate his business in a Jersey tax haven.
But what of his workforce?
In modern times, Dasher might well be issued with the latest smartphone to assist with his duties. No doubt Santa will have a communications policy in place dealing with personal use. He may want to keep an eye on Dasher’s activities and his policy must cover the circumstances under which monitoring and recording will take place. Of course Santa will be advised to only go as far as is necessary without infringing rights to privacy.
Likewise Dancer might take the sleigh out for a spin but also will need to make sure that he complies with any policy concerning personal use. Santa will need to make sure that he complies with his obligations to ensure that equipment is regularly tested and serviced.
Inside the grotto, Santa may be concerned about the Elves and their obsession with social networking websites such as Facebook. Of course, during the quiet summer months, Santa may want to allow use of the facilities for personal use but will want a policy to make them aware of the boundaries during the busy winter months. Santa will have a policy on bullying and harassment that is up to date with these new forms of interaction between staff, which can sometimes lead to problems, sometimes as serious as defamation or criminal conduct.
Prancer, not having opted out of the working time regulations, might limit his working week to 48 hours over the festive season. Santa will need to ensure that he does not suffer a detriment for exercising this and his other rights.
Likewise if Donner reports a health and safety concern, Santa will want to make sure that he has a procedure for receiving this and protecting Donner from any reprisals from the other reindeer. He must certainly not think to try and brush under the carpet and dismiss Donner or cause him to suffer a detriment because of his complaints.
When Comet cannot make it into work during adverse weather conditions, Santa will have a published policy setting out how the time off will be treated. Santa will not want to force Comet to attend and risk injury but will have already thought about whether Comet can work remotely from Lapland and whether travel is absolutely necessary. Santa’s policy will make clear whether time off is to be paid, unpaid or taken as holiday.
This year Santa will be cautious about the free bar at the office party but will be offering moderate refreshments. Cupid may be up to no good at the office party, but Santa will ensure that the other reindeer are protected from his pranks. A policy may have been issued in advance and Santa may even be sending Cupid home in a taxi if he gets out of hand.
And if Vixen is away on maternity leave and misses all the fun, Santa will ensure that her place is still available when she returns, or certainly something similar if he can.
For one unfortunate reindeer, the end of the road may be close. If Blitzen becomes surplus to requirements this year, Santa will need to decide which, if any, of the others fall into the same pool of potentially redundant reindeer. Santa will have laid out his selection criteria in advance and tried to make sure that there is a good mix of subjective and objective factors to consider. Blitzen may well be entitled to long notice having regard to the statutory minimums as well as redundancy payments based on service. If S. Claus LLP goes under there may be even be recourse to the government to cover some of these payments.
One reindeer will be free of problems this year, as Rudolf has abandoned his trusty illuminated nose for the latest satellite navigation technology - perfect for navigating those dark winter nights. But Santa is aware of the name calling from the other reindeer and should be advising Rudolf to follow the grievance procedure to address this.
And finally, let us not forget the elves. Santa needs to ensure that he does not treat them less favourably than the reindeer for reasons connected with various protected characteristics, such as their affiliation with the elfish race. In the case of some, their diminutive size may not in itself give rise to discrimination for reasons of disability but health problems arising or associative discrimination for family members may raise unwitting problems for an employer.
n If Santa is in need of advice this year he, like others in our community, can call upon Arj Arul at Mills and Bann on (01635) 521545 or by email: arj@mblaw.co.uk
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