We're all going on an 'away day' - but is it going to wind up at an Employment Tribunal?

Who doesn’t love an away day? A chance to get away from your desk, throw some humour at the work issues and get to know your colleagues better by doing a charity bike ride, a blind fold challenge or by singing karaoke in your best Tina Turner voice. Now the ‘office’ is making a comeback, so seemingly are corporate away days. HR Grapevine reports on what the best of the best entail and how HR can ensure the company (ahem) jolly doesn’t wind up in a tribunal case.

Are there benefits to an away day?

Rachel Sawyer, Marketing Manager at GOTO Events unsurprisingly says that company away days are of ‘immense value.’ As to why, she says, that it fosters collaboration, boosts morale and aligns teams with company goals. “We’ve developed away day events that aid in lowering the walls between disparate teams, encouraging communication, and creating shared experiences that transcend the office environment. These events serve as an opportunity to build trust, unlock creativity, and reinforce a company’s culture.”

I suppose she’s right – I’ve been on away days when we have done a mini Olympics, I’ve also been in a Berlin nightclub – both ‘shared experiences’ – after all I haven’t forgotten either of those, even if I have now erased the projects we were working on from my mind.