Its April Fools day, we’ve fallen for many April Fool jokes in our time and we don’t want to be party poopers as we like a good joke as much as anyone…but this article from last year is a harsh reminder about the risks of letting practical jokes get out of hand in the workplace – the common refrain of “but it was just a joke” doesn’t cut much ice with the Employment Tribunal.
Employers have a responsibility for ensuring that no one suffers discrimination or harassment in the workplace and remember that in these cases perception is everything. If someone knows or should know that their actions are likely to cause another person to feel discriminated against or harassed then that behaviour is not acceptable at work.
How do you get the balance between encouraging a fun place to work and not letting that tip over into dangerous or unacceptable actions?
http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/april-fools-day-workplace-pranks-go-wrong/