Christmas parties can be great fun, but it’s important to remember that they are still a “work function” and employers need to be mindful of their continued duty to their employees at the function.
A Christmas party is about balancing a positive social experience with the legal and safety obligations you owe to your workers. This means you are tasked with assessing and addressing potential hazards, both physical and psychological, that may arise.
In this blog, we outline a few best practice tips to ensure your Christmas party runs as smoothly as possible!
Tip 1: Implement policies and procedures which deal with the behaviour expected of employees at work functions.
This includes, but is not limited to, a Work Health and Safety Policy, Drug and Alcohol policy and a Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying policy. Ensure employees are educated on these policies and procedures so they are aware of what is actually expected of them. You may also wish to “test” an employee’s understanding at the completion of policy training e.g. require each employee to complete a survey test, which demonstrates their understanding of the training, which is then kept on the employee’s file.
Tip 2: Send a notification out to employees before the Christmas party reminding them of your expectations.
The notification should include reference to the following:
1. Christmas parties are still work functions and that behaviour at the party must comply with the company’s policies and procedures. We also recommend sending a copy of the policies and encouraging employees to review their obligations before the party.
2. Notify employees to make travel arrangements to get home safely at the end of the function, and not to drive if they have consumed alcohol over the legal limit. On that note, if you are holding the Christmas party at a location which is a significant distance from the workplace, you should also consider arranging transport for your employees to and from the venue.
3. Finally, set clear start and finish times to ensure employees continuing on to another location do not consider this to be part of the Christmas party.
Tip 3: Serve appropriate food at the Christmas party.
If you are serving alcohol at the Christmas party, ensure that there is sufficient food available at the function proportionate to the quantity of alcohol available. You should also:
o Serve non-alcoholic beverages;
o Serve variety of food options to accommodate different dietary restrictions and preferences, such as vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free choices; and
o Ensure you consider any allergies. This includes making sure any food is clearly marked as containing the allergies like nuts and seafood.
Tip 4: Ensure you have a plan in place to address any medical emergencies, or other unexpected issues that arise during the Christmas party.
We recommend nominating an employee from management to supervise the Christmas party and to deal with any issues that might arise at the event. The employee may even have an Incident Form spare so they can take down any necessary details if required.
Tip 5: If a complaint arises about behaviour at the Christmas party, you do need to investigate thoroughly, promptly and in accordance with a fair process.
Also consider whether there is a need to engage an external investigator, and whether you need to stand down the respondent, where there is a risk to health and safety or where it might jeopardise the integrity of the investigation process.
DISCLAIMER
The information in the package is intended as a general guide only, not legal advice, and specific legal or HR advice should be sought when necessary.
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