Xmas > Christmas News

Half of Christmas parties end in punch ups

Tue, 13 Dec 2005

A survey shows that half of Christmas parties end in a punch-up between drunken staff.

The generosity of employers who foot the bill for their Christmas party will backfire, as in many cases booze will be the cause of fights between colleagues at half of work Christmas parties.

According to the survey by employment law and health and safety experts Croner, "Firms aren't cancelling Christmas despite the bother, with 88% saying they will be holding a bash this year and eight in ten already planning to hold one next year."

Over a third of employers (34%) also report incidents of sexual harassment and 23% experience accidents involving exuberant workers in high festive spirits.

Problems cited by 512 bosses surveyed included verbal fighting between "two colleagues over a girl," physical violence where "an employee struck a manager" and "inappropriate behaviour, mainly due to the consumption of alcohol."

The days of gathering grimly in the works canteen appear to be numbered, with just one per cent saying they would be holding the party on company premises.

Most said they would have expected a disco and buffet (60%) or meal in a restaurant (29%).

Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, said: "The Christmas party is potentially an HR manager's nightmare, but the fact that the vast majority of employers say they will still be holding one in spite of the risks is a great sign that the custom is far from dead.

"The problems lie in that parties inevitably involve alcohol and, while the drinks are free, employees are likely to drink more than they normally would."

He added: "It would be unreasonable, if not impossible, to ban alcohol altogether, but we would advise putting a sensible limit on the amount of free drinks per employee.

"It's not really surprising that fighting and sexual harassment have emerged as significant problems at parties, so employers would have little defence if they had failed to consider how to prevent them.

"However, what we find in practice is that, although very serious incidents do occur, most can be sorted out through standard grievance procedures before a formal complaint is made, which could in the worst case lead to a tribunal claim," he concluded.