Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (0)
Avoiding Office Party Disasters
July 16, 2007
Office parties are the perfect way to bring your staff together in a relaxed atmosphere and show them your appreciation for their hard work. However, what happens if the bash gets out of hand? Poyner and Spruill attorneys-at-law state “approximately one-third of employers report some form of employee misconduct at office parties, including excessive drinking, fighting and sexual advances.”
Here are five tips to help you avoid lawsuits:
- Curb alcohol consumption.
- Have a professional bartender serve the alcohol. Small businesses often make the mistake of offering self-service bars or allowing employees to serve drinks. Professional bartenders usually carry insurance, will not serve a minor, and are trained to know when to cut somebody off.
- Serve beer over hard liquor whenever possible.
- Close the bar at least one hour before the end of the party.
- Provide a car service to ensure all employees get home safely. The company could be held responsible if a person is served alcoholic drinks on the premises and then gets into an accident. Anything that happens to an employee between the time they leave your event until they reach home can create liability for you.
- Make the party more family-oriented. To keep staffers on their best behavior extend the invitation to their family too. I’ve found that my employees will generally behave more appropriate if their children and spouses are present.
- Check and recheck your insurance policy and coverage’s.
- Does it cover injuries?
- Make sure your policy clearly defines sexual harassment behavior and if it applies to all outside office events.
5. Designate a monitor. Assign the manager or a responsible person to watch out before a sticky situation arises. Giving this responsibility to a specific person can help to avoid other employees getting involved.
Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on July 16, 2007 | Comments (0)
