Twas the night of the office Christmas party...

Let’s all deck the halls with boughs of holly

Party time, the season to be jolly

With short skirts, earrings and reindeer hats

A few vodkas at home and then off to get rats'd

As grumpy John from accounts asks Edna to dance

In walks the boss, just back from France

He makes straight for the bar, full of French bonhomie

And says “Over here folks the drinks are on me”

This is the moment when he should have known better

But it’s all a laugh, bit of fun and he’s a go getter.

Next thing he knows Lucy’s perched on his knee

And he’s fooling about and his hands are quite free.

Her boyfriend takes umbrage, Lucy heads for the loo.

It goes down in history as a “hell of a do”.

But come the next day with his head in his hands

He opens a letter that makes big demands:

Sexual harassment and a promised pay rise

Will his wife believe that it’s really just lies?

From all at The HR Dept, we wish you a very Merry Christmas

Christmas parties - Where has the fun gone?

Where indeed?

It is the definition of fun in regards to a Christmas party that needs some refining:

A social meet up at Christmas to thank staff members for their contribution to the business, whether paid for or not.

The problem is that there are so many stories that come out of Christmas parties that it means it can all sound like employment law and HR is the Christmas Grinch!

Though it may not sound like the Christmas spirit the reality is a business can be liable for the action of their staff and be the ones footing any legal bill.

HR Dept top tips for a Christmas Party without further cost;

• Make sure all of your staff (including directors) are aware that the Christmas party is an extension of the workplace. Yes, people should enjoy themselves but as a business owner you have a responsibility to them and you could be the one picking up the pieces
• Ask employees to use their common sense. Regardless of where you hold it, they are employees representing your business brand
• Be mindful if you have any staff under the age of 18
• If the party is in the office, keep the photocopier out of bounds
• Have a range of food and soft drinks available so that individuals religious observance is catered for
• If the staff do is during the week, make clear that everyone is expected at their desks at normal time the following day - or organise it on a Friday!

Here are some examples why:

'Gossip about an employees pregnancy following a Christmas party'

'Teacher loses sacking appeal after punch up'

'Explicit text message told husband of wife's affair'

'Millionaire boss humiliated as tribunal rules he sexually harassed employee'

We aren’t part of the ban the Christmas party brigade, it is these and many other untold stories that did not hit the media serve as a reminder of an employer’s liability when organising an event that should be seen as reward and time of enjoyment.