With the silly season rolling around again, the annual warning about what is acceptable and unacceptable is out. Each year companies have these talks and yet each year there is a horror story.

We are in the camp that always recommends parties take place offsite and licensed so that someone else is responsible for the Responsible Service of Alcohol and making sure that everyone is safe. Every year we see problems that could have been avoided if only the event was held where someone else was in control.

Making Sure It’s Safe

If the event is being held where you are in control, make sure that you have safety mechanisms in place. Where these are being held in an office or workplace, this means a complete de-risking – meaning that a lot of things have to be moved to safer locations within the office.

Inclusiveness

Making sure that everyone is involved is important, and for businesses this can be a nightmare. Food and beverage options need to be clearly catered for and with the prevalence of intolerance is a nightmare for most businesses. Be prepared for the most obscure requests.

Travel Home

With relatively low cost door to door options, this is a non-negotiable for business owners. Making sure your staff get home safe from a work function is paramount. If staff are planning to go elsewhere after, make sure that no one drives and that they are still able to get there safely.

Best Behaviour

Practically this is tough, but having an event with external supervisors (such as a bar or restaurant) means that even the usually worse behaved will at least have semblance of control.

C&D

The team at C&D are away from 20 December to 8 January, but will be accessing emails at team@cdrta.au.