Christmas parties. The chance to have a laugh and socialise with colleagues or just a mess waiting to happen?
The
stats for Christmas parties and pretty poor with half of them involving
a fight between colleagues, a third resulting in sexual harassment
claims and a fifth of parties involve serious accidents. Over half have
had a cheeky snog with a boss or colleague, a third have engaged in
drunken sex and three quarters of bosses have claimed that an employee
threatened to take a case to tribunal regarding another employees
behaviour at a party.
What can we do can do to stop the party
descending into chaos? One option, of course, is to cancel your party.
That seems extreme to most and slightly 'bah humbug'. Also, most bosses want to give their employees a party to thank them for the work done that year. So, what can we do?
Step
one: Issue guidelines on what is and isn't acceptable behaviour.
Weather you write a party policy or just send an email giving a heads up
on what is expected it is important you staff have guidelines in place.
Step
two: Carry out risk assessments on the venue. A Christmas party is a
work related venture so you must ensure the venue is safe. Cover you
back; make sure you took the relevant steps to make your staff safe so
if something does go wrong you are less likely to be at fault.
Step
three: Decide if partners are allowed. You may end up doubling your
party numbers by inviting partners so think carefully about your budget.
More people means more chance for something to go wrong or fights to
occur.
Step four: Limit the amount of free alcohol. You want your
employees to have a good time but providing a free bar all night will
inevitably result in very drunk people so set an amount of drinks per
person and don't be persuaded to increase it.
Step five: Consider
the food supplied. Make sure you don't offend anyone with your chose of
food, consider peoples religions and beliefs. Ensure there are
vegetarian options and vegan options if required.
Step six: Don't
allow drink driving. You are responsible for your employees' safety if
they drink alcohol you have provided. Take reasonable steps to ensure
your employees get home safely, make sure local taxi firms numbers are
readily available. Even consider hiring a mini bus if the need is there.
Step
seven: Set realistic standards for the next morning. How much the
employees' are expected to do is up to you. You have to decide prior to
the party how much you expect from them the next day and let everyone
aware of the standards you expect. Generally, expect a little less from
your employees.
If you use these steps as a guideline your party
should go without a hitch. Of course there will always be unforeseen
circumstances but these will help you stay in as much control as
possible.
