SILKIN MANAGEMENT GROUP: HOLIDAY PARTY GUIDELINES

Silkin Management Group always has a holiday party for its staff. We do this as a great team building activity, getting all the staff more in communication in an informal atmosphere and often present goofy awards and presents in order to have lots of fun. Silkin Management Group clients, all being in the health care profession, often have holiday parties too and we encourage them to do so as it helps create a good ‘esprit de corps” in any office.

At the same time anyone having an office party, whether a Silkin Management Group client or not, should be aware of the risks of providing alcohol at such an activity. One of the attorney’s we work with, and one who several Silkin Management Group clients have used for human resources issues, has written some guidelines for alcohol involved holiday parties that we all should be aware of.

Below is the information provided by The Law Offices of Timothy Bowles, P.C. in Pasadena, CA. (info@tbowleslaw.com). We find the information to be a very useful guideline.

For more information about Silkin Management Group, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or call 800-695-0257.

Dave McKevitt
Silkin Management Group Consultant

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Tradition dictates year-end celebration and resolution. For an office’s annual party, should such a “celebration” include alcohol? If management’s answer is “yes,” then common sense ought to be applied to maximize the safety and well-being of all attending as well as the public. For example:

• Hold the event at a restaurant or other outside facility licensed to serve alcohol;
• Have a “no-host” bar with employees to buy their own alcohol (and with plentiful non-alcoholic drinks provided for free);
• If it’s to be an “open” bar, provide participants with a limited number of “drink tickets,” requiring them to purchase their own past that limit:
• Ensure a professional bartender is handling the purchases and distribution and has definite instructions on limiting service to the attendees;
• Serve food of course, thus avoiding the added intoxicating effect of an empty stomach;
• Serve food low in salt, avoiding the additional thirst potentially created;
• Hold the event within walking distance of the office and make arrangements for safe transportation home for anyone who needs it;
• Include a statement on the party invitation and/or circulate a written reminder to all concerned on the responsibilities to drink only in moderation and to avoid driving after imbibing; and
• Emphasize to management they are the example-setters at the event.
Another option would be to just not serve or provide the opportunity for alcohol at all while holding the event over a lunch time and with work to follow.