5 November 2026
It’s silly season once again, and while holiday cheer is in the air, we’re also here to remind you about the risks that come with holiday parties hosted by businesses.
Every year, the period leading up to and right after the holidays are busy ones for us when it comes to workplace investigations. And many of these cases are due to inappropriate behaviour at Christmas parties or other work-related social events that inevitably occur during this season.
These cases have the same hallmarks: too much alcohol. Inappropriate comments being made, or untoward contact being initiated. The more serious ones involve harassment and serious misconduct.
Before you proceed with your party, let’s talk about the policies you need to have in place before hosting a company event.
Your company’s Code of Conduct typically outlines the standards of behaviour expected from your team members. This includes how they interact with colleagues, managers, clients and other people they get in contact with through their work.
These expectations are still in place during a Christmas party (yes, even if the venue is not on office premises)!
Before your event, make sure your team know that they are still expected to conduct themselves in a professional and respectful manner. This includes being mindful of their language, behaviour, and interactions with others.
Alcohol is usually present at workplace celebrations, and it makes sense with the more relaxed social setting. However, it can also contribute to poor decision-making and inappropriate behaviour, which invariably lead to untoward incidents.
A Drug, Alcohol and Substance Use Policy is a particularly important policy for workplace gatherings as it prioritises employees’ well-being by clearly defining what constitutes abuse of alcohol in the workplace. And of course, it sets forth clear guardrails around the use of drugs and illegal substances.
If your holiday party is at a venue that serves alcohol, consider also having making sure that employees have access to safe transport home.
This policy is a particularly important one.
Your Respectful Workplace Behaviour Policy should address bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment and other forms of unacceptable workplace conduct. It’s always a good idea to remind team members that behaviour they might dismiss as a joke or think is okay in a relaxed social setting can still be inappropriate and offensive, or even unlawful.
We’ve seen it in many of the workplace incident cases we’ve worked on. Inappropriate comments that employees deem harmless, unwanted physical contact, or sexually suggestive or aggressive behaviour can have serious consequences. This is true for the individuals involved and the business itself.
Employers also have a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, certain forms of unlawful workplace conduct. This includes sexual harassment.
An event held by the workplace means that employers are still bound by this positive duty. This means employers need to take proactive measures to prevent these behaviours from even happening, and not just simply responding when something goes wrong.
A Workplace Social Events Policy isn’t something all businesses typically have. However, we highly recommend having one, as it sets clear expectations for events that companies organise. Whether that’s a Christmas party, an anniversary night, a team dinner or other work-related gatherings, this policy is a good document to have in place for when you have such events.
Depending on your business and the type of event in question, this policy may cover:
Having these expectations documented helps your team understand their responsibilities. As well, it helps managers have a clear framework for organising and managing events.
There may be other policies that are relevant in this case, depending on your business and the event you’re planning.
A Social Media Policy can cover sharing photos or videos of colleagues during a work event online.
If your business has a Gambling in the Workplace Policy, this may also be relevant and worth reminding your team of, depending on the activities planned.
The important thing is to consider the nature of the event and whether your existing policies adequately cover and address possible risks.
Do you have all the policies above? That’s great!
However, we regularly remind employers that simply having policies in place isn’t enough. Making sure your employees understand them is just as important as having these policies.
For many team members, they were just handed an Employee Handbook containing all the workplace policies in them when they were onboarded. Do not assume that they still remember all these policies months or even years after their onboarding.
Before you hold your holiday parties or silly season festivities, we recommend bringing your team together for a short meeting to revisit workplace expectations. You can also send them copies of the relevant policies so they can review them beforehand. If you have new policies to introduce specifically for workplace events, this would also be a good time to make your employees aware of them.
The meeting can be a concise one. Remember to:
Have your team members acknowledge that they read and understood the policies, ideally after the meeting. At Now Actually, we do this by sending an email with the relevant policies attached, and an attestation that the team can sign and send back.
This might seem like quite a bit of work to do before a simple gathering. This isn’t about taking the fun out of festive events, it’s about making sure everyone can enjoy them responsibly.
Workplace incidents can still happen even with the best preparation and the right policies and precautions in place.
If a member of your team raises a concern or a complaint after the party, make sure that it is taken seriously and appropriately responded to.
Not every incident requires an investigation, but they do require documenting the complaint and then deciding on next steps after assessing the risks associated with it.
It’s also important not to jump to conclusions or make disciplinary decisions before understanding the circumstances.
We’ve previously covered how employers can approach difficult conversations during the festive period in our article, Difficult Conversations During the Silly Season.
Holiday parties and year-end celebrations are something everyone looks forward to. They should be an opportunity to relax and unwind, and celebrate the year that’s gone.
But the reality that they can carry risk shouldn’t be ignored either. Taking the time to review your policies, communicating expectations and making sure your team understands them can help reduce the risk of incidents.
If your workplace policies haven’t been reviewed in a while, or you would like ones tailored for such events, the team at Now Actually can help.
