Your work Christmas party: what the law says

It’s December. The time of year when most employees’ eyes turn towards Christmas and the jewel in the crown of the company’s social calendar: the work Christmas party.

It’s a chance to eat, drink, and be merry…and who’s to say otherwise? Your guys deserve to let their hair down for a bit. It’s heartening to see people relaxing and bonding over a mince pie.

But – and we don’t want to dampen the Christmas spirit too much here – the potential fallout from staff indulging in one too many sherries can hit small businesses hard.

If things do get out of hand, then ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘disciplinary action’ can make for two pretty unwelcome party guests.

Work Christmas party dos and don'ts

So, when it comes to company knees-ups, do you know your responsibilities as an employer? What’s deemed appropriate behaviour for your staff and what’s not? Who’s culpable if someone gets roaring drunk and offends the managing director’s wife with a rude Santa joke?

The first thing to know is office parties, even those held outside office hours and not on your premises, are still considered ‘work’.

Parties are part of office life and employees are expected to attend. As such, the employer’s responsibilities to its staff don’t change. For example, in sexual harassment cases and complaints about employee behaviour at parties, courts still hold the employer liable.

Sobering thoughts

So you need to keep an eye on what’s going on. If you’re hosting the work Christmas party, and you're providing alcohol, you’re responsible for your guests’ consumption and what they do during and after the event.

While you want everyone to have a good time (it is a party after all), you don’t want to encourage anyone to drink the bar dry. Err on the side of caution and make sure there are enough games and entertainment to keep people busy, and plenty of non-alcoholic drink available. It’s a good idea to provide some food too – it'll help soak up the excess.

If you’re holding your Christmas party mid-week, you can remind your employees that hangover-induced sickies the next day at work will not be appreciated by you or their colleagues. The promise of bacon rolls when they get in always goes down well too...

Ho-ho-oh...

Putting your employees’ health and safety at risk doesn’t sit well with either the law or your employers’ liability insurer. As the planner and host of your staff Christmas party, you can be held responsible for things like fairy lights trailing across the floor and slippery walkways.

That's why, with the potential for something to go wrong and cause problems, there's a growing trend for companies to shy away from holding office parties and pass the baton to an external party venue instead.

That doesn’t mean ‘not my party, not my problem’, though. If one of your employees slips on a mince pie and collides with the venue's inflatable Santa (taking down Santa’s entire workshop in the process), as their employer, you could find yourself answerable to a claim for third-party property damage.

Which is why checking if your public liability (PL) insurance cover meets the venue’s requirements is essential before any party. It needs to be enough to settle any demands for compensation (and spare your employee’s embarrassed blushes).

Similarly, if anyone outside your company is attending the party (think partners and employees' plus-ones), then you should definitely have PL. That way, if someone's designer silk shirt gets a mulled wine makeover, you're not left footing the bill alone.

Tips for seasonal success

To make sure your work Christmas party goes with the right sort of bang, your best bet is to cover all bases:

• Remind everyone of your policies – send an email round on the day of the party just so people know the company rules apply outside the office too.
• Have a dress code – it helps to keep things professional (probably best to avoid a 'saucy Santa' theme though).
• Hand out drinks tokens – it might help regulate consumption. Your employees can use these at an open bar; once they’ve run out they can buy their own drinks.
• Arrange taxis or a minibus – or if funds don’t allow, at least make sure everyone can get home afterwards. Finishing before the last train leaves helps, too.
• Make sure your employers' liability insurance (to cover your staff’s welfare) and your directors’ and officers’ insurance (to cover your managers’ liability) are up to date.

But most of all, enjoy yourself and don’t forget to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. That’s what really matters after all.

Balancing what your small business needs with what your staff want is always a tricky one, especially during party season. If you need help getting ready, just give us a call on 0345 222 5391.

Image used under license from iStock.