Christine:  So, "Are you planning an in-person work Christmas get together this year?" We've got, yes, we can't wait to hit the dance floor, or no, COVID gave us the welcome excuse to stop doing them.

So, as I said at the start, Christmas parties are making a comeback this year. COVID is on the wane, thankfully, and we've got the drunken antics, inappropriate comments, and everything else that goes with the parties to look forward to.

So let's see how many of you are planning them. Eighty-six per cent are hitting that dance floor, Seamus. I'm very pleased to hear that. Legal-Island certainly will be, and I know O'Reilly Stewart will be too. So what do you think? I think we're right to be talking about this today.

Seamus:  Yeah, absolutely. Eighty-six per cent is a good . . . Christmas is back, and all of that. I suppose nearly 15% of people there almost are saying that they've abandoned and got rid of them because they can be a bit of a headache. There's no doubt about it. There are issues that arise at the Christmas dinner every year, good gossip and chat for the remainder of the Christmas period, and hopefully, well forgotten by the time everybody gets back to work in January.

But there's always a worry about Christmas parties. I suppose this year, Christine, if you haven't had one from 2019, there are a couple of factors that I think impact it this year. You haven't had one for a long period of time. People might be very keen and spirits may be very high.

The other thing is that we've had such a turnover in staff in most places because of the way things have been since COVID. You might have a lot of new employees. People have been working from home. They're not in the office all the time. Some people might be very keen to get to the Christmas dinner to see everybody, to have that sort of collegiate sit-down dinner or drink together, or whatever it is.

And then you might have a lot of new people as well. It's a good way to get to know people if it's maybe the first time that there has been a function in work for these new people. That all, I think, is great.

There's a risky downside with that as well, particularly in relation to if people have been holding in their grudges for three years and now they get an opportunity to tell that person face-to-face what they think of them, or something like that. There could be a lot of pent-up issues that have maybe been building up through the working-from-home aspect and things like that as well.

Look, it's always the risk with the Christmas party that you'll always have maybe one or two people that overindulge, that issues arise, things are said. It's all the classic stuff in relation to fights breaking out, inappropriate touching, all of those things.

But ultimately, it is there to be a supportive mechanism, a social mechanism, a good welfare piece for colleagues to sit down to get together and to enjoy themselves.

I suppose it's always just watching the boundaries of that and making sure that it is done in a respectful way, and that there isn't any sort of serious downfall that happens as a result of it.

I think maybe some of the other things are just around the welfare pieces of about the Christmas dinner. And I think it's helpful for employers to set out clearly what the Christmas dinner is going to be and what it's about, where it's going to be. Is the event being paid for by the office? Is there a contribution to be made in relation to it? Will there be a free drink? Will there be a free bar all night? Will there be a bottle of wine per table, and that's it? It's the thoughts in and around that.

And then it's the welfare piece at the end of the night. Letting people know when the event finishes, how they might get home, whether they're going to be getting taxis, whether the organisation is going to put taxis on for them. It's very difficult at the minute to get a taxi anywhere. What about public transport? What's available? Where is the venue? How close is the public transport aspect? And making sure that everybody is getting home safe.

And then just that piece of the next day, that if it is during a weeknight and if you have people that are maybe driving or having to drive places the following morning, that they're not over-indulging and putting themselves at risk.

And ultimately, we know the law is fairly clear that those work events are extensions of the workplace, and that horrible cringy idea of whether or not you put a memorandum out to staff in advance saying, "This is what we're going to do".

Christine:  I was going to bring that up. Should the HR be sending the old "Grinch that Stole Christmas" email saying, "Have fun, but not too much". And should you actually mention, "These are things that we consider gross misconduct"? It kind of takes the fizz out of it a bit.

Seamus:  It does.

Christine:  But it is a bit necessary, isn't it?

Seamus:  Yeah. I mean, I think it's a really hard balance. And ultimately, again, the legal aspect, people need to know what the . . . I suppose following through what the ethos of the organisation is and what the expectations are in relation to behaviour at work-related events.

Ultimately, if you're in a party room with 300 other people, and there are 30 other businesses that are there, and you have one employee that does something and lets the side down, that's reputational damage for the organisation, for the company, or for the employer.

And you don't have to look back too far in recent weeks to see where those sorts of incidents are happening. People tend to forget at work events that . . . As they say, once the drink goes in, the wit goes out. They tend to forget that they are representing the organisation that they are working for and there's a public perception in relation to all of that.

And we've all been to those Christmas parties where there have been fights and they've said, "Oh, that's all the employees from such and such". There's a damage there. And there's also a damage for if your company was to go back to try to facilitate a conference or some sort of event at the premises again, they might not have you back if any of your employees have damaged property and things like that.

So it is a difficult one. I think it is a difficult balance to get. I think the best situation that you can have is to have something in the staff handbook about work-related events, or after events, and that you're maybe gently referring the employees back to the policy in advance of the event itself, rather than sending a big laborious email out telling everybody that they're going to have to sit still and not do anything bad at the Christmas dinner.

It does take the taste off it somewhat, absolutely accept that, but I do suspect that there will be a situation where employers and organisations have had their fingers burnt previously. And when we look back at that poll, that 14% could well be those that have just said, "We're not doing this anymore. It's too much of a risk". It's a real pity, but it does happen.

Christine:  Yeah. And what about on the night? If HR or a manager spots misbehaving, do you intervene then and there, or is it mental note for the next day to deal with? What do you think?

Seamus:  I think it depends on the type of behaviour. If it's clear behaviour that is either of an assaulting or a harassing nature, it should be stopped there and then. I don't think that there's a capacity to leave that to be dealt with the following day.

And it may be that you're approaching the employee and saying, "You need to go home. It's the end of the night for you, and you need to leave", where somebody is completely out of hand. And again, looking at the welfare aspects of that also.

But if you see a little bit of a minor event happening that really isn't acceptable, but you're all right on the Christmas party, it may be a mental note for a discussion at the next available opportunity to say, "Look, that happened, witnessed it, not appropriate. We'll not want to be seeing that happening again", or if you felt the need to go down a stronger line with maybe formal action.

But I do think that HR, if they're dealing with it, it's their Christmas party too. So it maybe is that they're taking a mental note and not wanting to get into situations where there maybe is alcohol being involved, and it can enflame the situation as well. You do need to be careful with that.

But certainly, where it's something that is entirely inappropriate and needs to stop there and then, I think that there needs to be an ending to that. And if that means taking parties and taking them outside and having discussions, that needs to happen. Ultimately, if there is something along the nature of an assault or harassment happening, the employer will be liable for that.

Christine:  Yeah. So just to finish up, Seamus, what would be your top tips for the Christmas party season?

Seamus:  I think the safety aspect. I think watching out for anybody that is over-indulging or for anybody that becomes erratic. Sometimes people will go to these events and they'll take alcohol and they'll have maybe an adverse reaction to it. They might never be back at the Christmas party again after that, but it's watching out for those individuals.

Maybe somebody that's getting leery and maybe you're thinking to yourself, "Well, look, we just need to watch this person because this is going to go down a bad track". And it may be that you're having to have a conversation to say, "If you're going to stay, you can't have any more to drink", or even, "We need you to leave".

So I think keeping an eye on those individuals and enjoying yourself, but also keeping an eye out for those particular difficulties that arise.

I think just that welfare piece, making sure people are able to get home. What is the responsibility in relation to that? If the office is taking the group out and they're paying for the meal, is there a responsibility then to make sure that everybody does get home safe and sound? And whether or not you can facilitate a bus or some sort of transport on that.

Or if people are at the end of the night waiting around for taxis, they're not maybe left on their own, and that there is that sort of welfare aspect of it.

And I think the third one is just trying to enjoy it. It is the Christmas party after all. It's a celebration. It is a time for colleagues to get together. You know yourself that most of these go off without any difficulties. And if there is an issue, it tends to be just one employee that ruins it for everybody.

But do try and enjoy it. We've had a rough number of years. It's maybe the first opportunity that people are getting out, with new people in the office as well, new people in the workplace, and trying to enjoy and celebrate the night.

Christine:  Brilliant. Something you mentioned that I think is a great tip is having it in your policy what acceptable behaviour at work events is, and directing people to that. I think that is a really good way of getting the content of the Grinch email out without raining on people's parade. I really like that one, so I think that's definitely one we'll be using.