Blog - Month: December 2025

With year-end festivities about to begin, you should include safety into your holiday plans, be that if you are simply decorating the office or throwing a holiday/year-end party for your staff.

While you obviously want your staff to relax and have fun at your holiday party, you also want to make sure they get home safely and that nobody gets hurt or sick at your party.

Some of your safety priorities should be

• Liquor consumption,
• Safety on the premises of your party, and
• Food-borne illnesses.

Due to their infrequent nature, the liability risks of company-sponsored holiday events are often overlooked. To ensure the health and well-being of all who attend, it is important to be aware of any potential liability concerns that your company may face if the event doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Safety

While you want your staff to enjoy themselves, safety should still be your top priority during the holidays.

Keep in mind that if someone trips and injures themselves on an extension cord for your holiday lighting or other holiday decorations, it would be considered work-related and could possibly be subject to workers’ compensation. The same may hold true for injuries sustained at work parties as well. Consider the following:

• If you are holding a party at outside your office, inspect the venue first to make sure it meets your safety standards. Some things to keep an eye out for include: exits emergency lighting, and flooring that might prevent slips and falls, particularly if there is a chance of bad weather.
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast and if storms are looming on the date of your party. Consider the effects that weather may have on safe travel to and from the party.
• Do you need security?
• If party-goers are leaving at night, make sure nobody has to walk out alone in the dark to their car for safety reasons.
• Use food safety best practices like keeping hot foods warm and covered and not leaving perishable food out for too long to reduce the chance of someone getting a food-borne illness.
• Have an emergency plan in case someone is injured or needs medical assistance. Know where the closest hospital is and if anyone knows how to use a defibrillator or can perform CPR.

Risk and potential liabilities

You’ll want to minimize the chances of being sued for actions related to the event.

• Prior to the event, remind your employees that rules against harassment, discrimination and conduct apply at the event as well and infractions will be dealt with as you normally would.
• Monitor behavior at the event, as if people are drinking, they may act in ways that they normally wouldn’t. Take prompt action if any activity or behavior exceeds acceptable bounds.
• Make the event optional for your workers and let them know that it won’t reflect poorly on their performance evaluation, advancement potential or job security if they don’t’ attend. Emphasize this in all invitations and announcements should emphasize this point.
• Limit alcohol consumption.
• Avoiding activities or items such as mistletoe or inappropriate music that could lead to physical contact, unwanted social pressure or inappropriate conversation.
• Taking complaints that stem from the party seriously. As you would with any other incident, document, investigate and take appropriate action.

Alcohol

Some companies have recognized the liability exposure that alcohol represents and have chosen to hold holiday events free of beer, wine, or liquor. If it will be served, there are some important considerations that can help to limit potential problems:

• Hold the event at an off-site location and hire professional bartenders who have their own insurance and are certified for alcohol service. Speak with the vendor to determine what protocols it uses to keep from serving minors and others who are visibly intoxicated.
• Provide an array of choices of non-alcoholic beverages.
• Don’t have an open bar. Instead hand out a set amount of drink tickets to control consumption (two is usually a standard amount).
• Stop serving alcohol at least an hour before the event ends.
• Give a supervisor or manager the authority to cut off anyone who is intoxicated.
• Provide alternative transportation that may include free cab or Uber rides.

A word about insurance

Make sure you that any vendors you use, carry insurance. Insist on seeing the certificates of insurance with sufficient coverage and liability limits for:

• Catering firms,
• Bartending firms,
• Facilities, or
• Entertainers should be required to produce

When reviewing rental contracts, be sure to note any hold harmless or indemnity agreements that could release the vendor from liability and instead hold your company responsible for losses from situations over which you have no control.

Also, talk to us to make sure that your own insurance policies cover any mishaps that may occur at your company event.