Things to consider before serving alcohol at your holiday party
By David G. Bates, Contributing Writer
December 8, 2017
The holidays are often the time of year when companies look to celebrate their successes and boost employee morale by hosting an annual holiday party.
In recent years, unfortunately, many companies have faced liability as a result of serving alcohol at their holiday parties due to guests consuming too much alcohol and injuring themselves or others.
In these instances, courts have imposed liability to companies if the company’s conduct created or exacerbated the risk. As a consequence, some companies decide to ban alcohol at their parties altogether.
For those companies who make the decision to serve alcohol, it is prudent to observe the following recommendations to minimize your potential liability:
· Ensure that employees understand that no work will be conducted at the party, and do not deliver employee bonuses at the party.
· Prior to the party, distribute to all attendees a written notice reminding them (1) to drink responsibly, (2) to comply with company policies, including sexual harassment policies, and (3) that alcohol consumption does not excuse inappropriate behavior.
· Hold the party in the daytime and during the week and consider making it a family party by including significant others and children. When employees know they have to be at work the next day and/or their family is present, there is a greater probability they will drink responsibly.
· Encourage a professional dress code.
· Provide entertainment so that drinking alcohol is not the primary activity.
· Hire professional bartenders to serve the alcohol, hold the party off premises and ensure that the location possesses the required liquor license.
· Designate certain employees as “spotters” to be on the lookout for employees who may appear to be intoxicated and to assist those employees, including arranging for safe transportation home.
· Limit the amount of alcohol served by distributing tickets for drinks to each employee, set limits on the number of tickets each employee receives, and make it clear that ticket sharing is not allowed.
· To further discourage the over-consumption of alcohol, consider charging employees for drinks and perhaps donating the proceeds to a charity supported by employees.
· Do not allow drinks to be offered by servers roaming the party or refilling empty drinking glasses and do no create self-serve bars or open beer kegs. Instead, require employees to obtain all alcoholic drinks from the bartender, where they can be observed and the quantity of drinks can be controlled.
· Instruct the bartenders not to serve additional drinks to employees who appear intoxicated or who have had more than the set number of drinks.
· Do not serve alcohol to underage employees.
· Limit selections to beer, wine and plenty of nonalcoholic alternatives and certainly avoid fruit punches and other drinks that make it more difficult for individuals to determine how much alcohol they have consumed.
· Stop serving alcohol an hour or more before the party is scheduled to end.
· Serve food whenever alcohol is available and provide additional food during the last hour of the party.
· Review your insurance policies to confirm that it covers liabilities arising from the party. If the party is being held at a venue owned by a third-party, review its insurance policy to determine if additional insurance is recommended and request that the company be added as an additional insured to its policy.
· Allow employees to remain at the party location or provide other accommodations to allow the employee time to sober up.
· Do not allow intoxicated employees to drive themselves home and provide alternative transportation for those who are unable to drive themselves.
· For employees refusing the company’s offer of alternative transportation and insisting on driving themselves in an intoxicated state, take their car keys and, if required, call law enforcement.
· After the party, investigate all employee complaints alleging illegal or improper employee conduct occurring at the party.
· Make attendance at the party voluntary and do not take attendance or compensate employees for attending the party.
For those companies that have decided their holiday party will only be merry if alcohol is served, following these recommendations will help make for a joyous holiday party for all, avoid unintended consequences due to too much alcohol consumption and limit your company’s potential liability.