With Spring upon us, the festive season is just around the corner and Christmas and New Year summer celebrations are quickly in full swing, and the sunshine and party spirit present an ideal opportunity to socialise with your staff off-site.
Company events can be great for team bonding, but what happens if someone injures themselves outside the workplace? What are your obligations and how can you mitigate the risk?
Events with alcohol
It’s not always easy to control the amount of alcohol your staff consume. There are, however, a number of strategies you can employ to help prevent excessive intoxication at company events.
Start by reminding staff beforehand that they are at a company event and should not consume excessive amounts of alcohol. You can also remind them of any code of conduct policies at your business.
Top tips:
- Although it’s fun to let your hair down and have a couple of drinks, don’t make alcohol the focus of work events.
- Consider limiting the number of drinks each staff member is allocated. Alternatively, you could limit the length of time you have an ‘open’ bar.
- Define a starting and finishing time to make it clear when work hours are.
- Make staff aware of their obligations to adhere to anti-discrimination and harassment policies.
- Make sure intoxicated staff are not served alcohol.
- Food should be provided at events with alcohol, non-alcoholic drinks should be available and drinking games should not be allowed.
Ultimately, you may need to be prepared to take sanctions against any employee who engages in behaviour that does not meet your company’s code of conduct.
Getting home
Ensure your staff arrive home safely from company events. This can mean covering the cost of a cab for your employees to get home or hiring a bus that can transport staff to and from the event.
Team building
Some company-sponsored events may involve team building based on physical activities, such as boot camp or rock climbing.
Ensure employees are aware of the risks involved with any physical activity your business engages in. It is always a good idea to do this before the day, so staff have time to research any risks and ask questions.
Business travel
If a substantial amount of travel is required to get to an event, ensure staff have adequate travel insurance, particularly for international trips. You can also create a business travel plan so they know exactly when and where they are required to be. This will help reduce stress and the potential for something going wrong.
You may consider implementing a code of conduct for travelling employees that outlines their responsibilities when they are out of the office. This should include procedures in the event of an accident.
Insurance
As an employer, you must adhere to occupational health and safety legislation. You must also ensure you comply with anti-discrimination law, which extends to work-related events.
One of the best ways you can protect your business from off-site accidents is to have adequate insurance. A trusted Resilium Adviser can help ensure that you’re covered for any off-site injuries that may occur, and that all your insurance policies are up to date.
To fully understand your legal obligations, you should speak to an employment specialist legal practitioner.
You can’t always stop accidents occurring. However, taking the necessary precautions to prevent incidents on-site will help to protect your business, and keep your employees as safe as possible in the workplace.
