I have spent the last twenty years watching HR managers age an entire decade in the span of a single Friday night every December. It is a true and factual observation that the office Christmas party is not actually a party in the way normal humans understand the word. Instead, it is a high-risk liability exercise where every single attendee is technically on the clock, even if they are wearing a tinsel crown and holding a lukewarm prosecco.
Here is the controversial truth: most businesses would be legally safer if they just gave everyone a hundred-dollar voucher and told them to stay home. But we don’t do that because we want “culture” and “connection.” So, we march into the legal minefield once a year and hope nobody steps on something expensive. It is a vital and essential part of the corporate calendar, but good grief, it’s a nightmare to manage.
When the venue is just an…
The first thing you have to wrap your head around is that the law does not care that you are at a bowling alley or a fancy rooftop bar. In the eyes of the Australian Taxation Office and the Fair Work Commission, that venue is just an extension of your office. This means your Work Health and Safety (WHS) duties are in full effect from the moment the first drink is poured until the last person leaves.
They’s going to be consequences if you forget this. If an employee trips over a stray bowling ball or slips on a spilled drink, it is a workplace injury. You cannot simply shrug your shoulders and say it happened “after hours.” If you organised it, if you paid for it, and if you encouraged people to be there, you own the risk. It is a simple, brutal reality of the modern Australian workplace.
The positive duty to stop…
We are now living in the era of the “positive duty.” Thanks to the Respect@Work reforms that are hitting their full stride in 2025, you cannot just wait for a complaint to happen before you act. You have a legal obligation to proactively prevent sexual harassment and discrimination.
This means you can’t just send a memo and hope for the best. You need to show that you took “reasonable and proportionate” steps to keep everyone safe. I was going to mention the new 2025 Code of Practice for psychosocial hazards… wait, I should probably check if I have that PDF open… actually, the point is that the bar for “reasonable steps” has been raised significantly. You need to be able to prove you trained your staff on what is acceptable before the party even started.
Drinks, drives, and the duty…
Alcohol is the great catalyst for legal disasters. While you want everyone to have a good time, you are also effectively acting as a temporary publican. You must ensure the Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) is strictly followed. If you see someone who has clearly had one too many, you have a duty of care to step in.+1
Yikes! I’ve seen cases where employers were held liable for accidents that happened long after the party ended because they didn’t ensure the employee had a safe way to get home. Providing taxi vouchers or Uber codes isn’t just a nice gesture; it is a legal shield. If you let a drunk employee walk to their car and drive away, you are basically handing a loaded gun to a toddler and hoping for the best.
The blurry lines of the…
The “after-party” is where the real trouble usually begins. Most managers think their responsibility ends the moment the official bar tab closes at 10:00 PM. That is a dangerous assumption. If a group of employees decides to move to a nearby nightclub and a senior manager goes with them, the “connection to work” might still exist.
The tangential aside: I once knew a director who thought he was being “one of the team” by buying rounds of shots at a 2:00 AM after-party. He ended up in a tribunal six months later because of a conversation that happened over those shots. My advice? When the official party ends, the senior leadership should go home. Don’t be the person who accidentally extends the “workplace” into a 3:00 AM kebab shop. It is a total mess waiting to happen.
Harassment in the age of…
Social media has made the office party permanent. In the old days, if someone did a silly dance or made a slightly off-color joke, it lived only in the memories of those who were there. Today, it is on Instagram before the song has finished.
Employers have a duty to manage the “hostile work environment” that can be created by social media posts. If an employee posts a photo of a colleague in a compromising or embarrassing position, that is a bullying and harassment issue that you have to deal with on Monday morning. You should have a clear policy on social media use at work functions. It sounds like a buzzkill, but it saves everyone a lot of heartache.
Setting the stage for a…
So, how do you actually protect the business without being the Grinch? It comes down to preparation.
- Define the boundaries: Clearly state the start and finish times in writing.
- Sober supervision: Nominate a few “responsible persons” who agree to stay sober and keep an eye on things.
- Feed the masses: Don’t just serve chips. You need substantial food to slow down the alcohol absorption.
Ugh, I know it sounds like a lot of work for a “celebration.” But the alternative is spending your January answering questions from lawyers instead of planning your next big project. Treat the party with the same level of risk management as you would a high-stakes client pitch. It is a complex, delicate balance, but it is one you have to master if you want to keep your business out of the courts.
Handwritten note: Don’t forget to update the “Emergency Contact” list for all staff before the venue booking is finalised!
~~You can’t be held liable for what happens in the taxi on the way home.~~ Actually, if the employer organises or pays for the transport, the duty of care often extends to that journey.