Simple tips to make your company holiday party a success

Control your liability while still ensuring everyone has a good time

By Chuck Turner — General Counsel, Payne Financial Group

Throughout the year, we find many reasons to celebrate, running the gamut from holidays to birthdays to special events. I enjoy and look forward to the festivity and camaraderie of these events, as they usually include tasty food and beverages, games and fun for everyone.

At Payne Financial Group, we encourage employee social interaction. As a result, our company — through our offices’ employee clubs — puts on several office socials throughout the year, including a family event in the summer and a Halloween potluck. And finally, at the close of the year, we host the Year-End Holiday Party (and I, the lawyer, start losing sleep).

As we move through these various holiday socials to the end-of-the-year holiday party, I have to change roles from fun-seeking, easy-going participant to the Grinch who steals the fun out of the holidays. For some reason, it seems the end-of-the-year office party has a way of presenting a different set of issues than many other celebrations.

For example, I once had a client who took his entire staff to a motel for a good old-fashioned annual lampshade-on-the-head blowout. The two-story motel used for the event had an indoor courtyard pool. At the end of the festivities, after a particularly “fun” time was had by all, my client was asked to never return. It seems that his employees were jumping from the surrounding balcony into the pool at 3 a.m. To this day, how they avoided hurting themselves or damaging the building still amazes me.

I share this with you to point out that times are changing and, along with it, so are the year-end office parties we remember.

A decade ago, the U.S. Department of Labor published a document that commented on the vicarious liability exposures faced by employers in today’s more litigious society. It contained a list of holiday party tips an employer could follow to hopefully minimize exposure to lawsuit. As a company, we at PFG have adopted most of these suggestions in our nine office locations.

The following are the guidelines we give our managers to use in the planning of our company celebrations and help make these holiday festivities run smoothly.

1. Be honest with employees. Make sure your employees know your workplace substance abuse and sexual harassment policies and that these policies are to be followed not just in the office, but at any office social function.
2. Post the policy. Use every communication vehicle you have available to ensure employees know company policies. Prior to an office party, use break room bulletin boards and office e-mails to communicate policies and concerns.
3. Reinvent the office party concept. Why have the typical office party? Consider something new like an indoor carnival, group outing to a performance/event or a volunteer activity with a local charity.
4. Make sure employees know when to say when. If you do serve alcohol at an office event, make sure all employees know they are welcome to attend and have a good time, but they are expected to act responsibly. Use commercial bartenders who are trained in how to identify and handle intoxicated individuals. Rather than having an open bar, consider handing out a limited number of drink tickets.
5. Make it the office party of choice. Ensure that there are plenty of nonalcoholic beverages available.
6. Eat ... and be merry! Avoid serving lots of salty, greasy or sweet foods that tend to make people thirsty. Serve foods rich in starch and protein — they stay in the stomach longer and slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
7. Designate party managers. Remind all managers that even at the office party, they need to enforce the company's policies.
8. Arrange alternative transportation. Anticipate the need for alternative transportation for partygoers and make special transportation arrangements in advance of the party. Encourage all employees to make use of the alternative transportation if they consume alcohol.
9. Serve none for the road. Stop serving alcohol well before the party officially ends.
10. Keep your party governed by social host laws. To this end, you should never require employees to attend a party. You should also try not to conduct business at the party. Try to hold the party off site, away from the office.

Call your insurance agent to verify:

• You have proper coverage for workers’ compensation, property damage and bodily injury claims.
• Your caterer is properly licensed and insured, and can provide proof of insurance.

The holidays are times of joy and celebration. Help make your holiday party a success by using proper planning and governance. By following these simple tips and encouraging professional conduct, your office party will be a hit, making it a tradition for years to come.

Chuck Turner is General Counsel for Payne Financial Group. He can be reached directly at cturner@pfgworld.com.