With the festive season fast approaching, many employers will be turning their thoughts to Christmas parties and end-of-year celebrations. While it’s a great opportunity to thank staff and boost morale, it’s also a time when HR headaches can arise if the event isn’t handled carefully.

Before you deck the halls and dust off the Santa hats, take a few moments to plan ahead and avoid any unwanted post-party issues. Here are our top tips for celebrating safely and inclusively this year:

Be Inclusive

Make sure everyone feels welcome, but don’t pressure anyone to attend. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, and some may prefer not to take part for religious or personal reasons. Framing your gathering as an end-of-year celebration can help make it more inclusive.

Also consider practicalities. Those with childcare or other commitments may appreciate a lunchtime celebration rather than an evening event. Whatever format you choose, ensure all employees are invited and have the chance to join in if they wish.

Be Mindful About Alcohol

An open bar may seem like a crowd-pleaser, but it can lead to problems if employees overindulge. Remember, employers can be held vicariously liable for inappropriate behaviour that occurs during work-related events, even outside office hours.

To avoid issues, consider offering a limited number of drink tokens rather than an unlimited bar, and make sure plenty of soft drinks and food options are available. Encouraging moderation helps ensure everyone enjoys the evening safely.

Set Clear Boundaries

Prevention is always better than cure. Before the event, remind staff of expected standards of behaviour and refer them to relevant workplace policies such as your Code of Conduct, Dignity at Work, and Disciplinary policies.

A polite reminder that misconduct, even at a social event, could result in disciplinary action can help prevent problems before they arise and ensure everyone has fun in a safe, respectful environment.

Avoid Work-Related Discussions

While it might be tempting to discuss work matters after a few drinks, steer clear of conversations about promotions, pay rises, or performance. There have been cases where commitments made informally at work events were later upheld by employment tribunals, so it’s best to leave those discussions for the office.

Take Sexual Harassment Seriously

With the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 now in force, employers have an increased duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, including at work-related social events such as Christmas parties.

This means taking proactive measures to educate staff on appropriate behaviour and ensuring a zero-tolerance approach to harassment of any kind. A party atmosphere combined with alcohol can sometimes blur boundaries, so it’s vital to remind employees that your policies apply wherever work events take place.

Sexual Harassment Training

At Bhayani Law, we offer specialist Sexual Harassment Training for Employees of All Levels to help organisations understand their responsibilities, promote respectful conduct, and comply with the new legislation. Investing in preventative training now could save significant legal and reputational risk later.

• Date: Thursday 27^th November 2025
• Time: 11.00 AM – 12.30 PM
• Location: Zoom

Organisations booking places for 10 or more employees will receive a 15% discount.

Bookings made before 10th November 2025 will receive a 10% early-bird discount (not applicable in addition to the 15% group discount).