Five Common Christmas Issues In The Workplace

I’ve got my Elf hat on and the Christmas tree up, so you know what that means? It’s Christmas time already, and everyone is getting ready for all the fun, frolics and overindulgence that comes with it. Christmas jumpers, nice big roast lunches, time off with the family and a chance to let your hair down at the Christmas party. But if you’re an employer, Christmas can also be a bit stressful, particularly for your HR department. It’s often their busiest time of year, because there are just so many things that can go wrong. But don’t worry, I’ve put together 5 of the most common Christmas issues I see in workplaces, and some advice for how to deal with them.

Dress Code and Decorations

Two things that can cause surprisingly heated arguments around this time of year are decorations and festive dressing. Let’s start with decorations. Some people like just a touch of festive sparkle. Some want nothing at all. And some want the office to look like Christmas joy threw up over their desk. The easiest way to stop disagreements here is to make decorating a communal task, so that everyone can have their say, and make sure public areas don’t go too overboard. And if your employees have their own offices, the décor is up to them!

Similarly, some people bring out the Christmas jumpers from December 1^st (or earlier!), while others are grudgingly pressured into taking part when they really don’t want to. If you’re relaxing your dress code, or throwing a Christmas jumper day, make sure you’re giving clear guidance. If not, this could easily backfire and cause offence. You need to make sure staff aren’t coming into work with slogans or images on their outfits that could cause upset. This is where you need clear guidance and policies in place, including the fact that it’s optional!

Rota Rows

It’s important to remember that there’s no legal right to have Christmas Day off, unless it’s written into your staff contract. Depending on the industry you work in, you might not be able to give all of your staff time off this year, especially if you get a raft of last-minute leave requests.

But you do need to be mindful of how you divide time off during this time of year. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that employees with young families should be given priority when it comes to time off at Christmas but that isn’t strictly true. Everyone in your business is equally entitled to request annual leave, and it can be an important time of year for many people, not just those with children. The fairest way to allocate leave is to implement a ‘first come, first served’ system, which can protect you from accusations of unfairness or favouritism.

Presents

Christmas and presents go together like strawberries and cream, and a lot of businesses will start receiving gifts from grateful suppliers during the run up to Christmas. And while we all love a box of chocolates to pass around the office, it’s worth reminding everyone of what an acceptable gift is, and what they’re actually allowed to accept. After all, it’s all too easy to fall foul of bribery policies if you don’t really understand them. So here’s a few tips to save any confusion:

1. Be clear that your staff are welcome to keep or share any gifts that are of minor value. A suggested limit might be £10, but it’s up to your individual policies (you do have those, right?).

   
   

2. Let your employees know that if they receive any larger gifts, they need to inform their manager. The same goes if they feel a gift is of ‘questionable intention’ (like trying to convince you to buy from them). This way it can be escalated and dealt with properly.

   
   

3. Don’t get annoyed if staff have gifts sent individually to them, and don’t share them. That’s OK! As long as they fall into point 1.

There’s a bit of a theme here, open communication and clear boundaries ahead of time. It really does save a lot of headaches.

Party Pains

Who doesn’t love a Christmas party? Even us HR professionals enjoy a good time but we’re very well aware of what can happen during them, and the messy aftermath! Christmas parties are linked to hundreds of tribunal cases every year, so while you want your employees to let their hair down and enjoy themselves, you also want to make sure they understand what’s expected of them, the boundaries in place and any consequences for crossing them. This isn’t just good practice to avoid awkward conversations. As an employer, you have something called ‘vicarious liability’. This means that if something happens at work (or at a work event), your company could be held responsible for it. So to make sure your Christmas party goes smoothly and issue free, you could:

Make sure everyone is familiar with your bullying and harassment policies, as well as your social media policy. After all, not everyone will appreciate party photos being posted online!

• Consider appointing someone in a senior position to limit or avoid alcohol consumption during the event, so that someone is remaining vigilant. Think of it as a ‘designated driver’ for your party.

  
  

• Make sure you provide plenty to eat and lots of water to combat the effects of alcohol.

  
  

• Have a cut-off time at the bar if alcohol is free.

  
  

• Deal with any claims of gossip or offensive comments quickly and robustly.

  
  

• Be considerate of all employees when you’re planning activities, including day and time, theme, activities, catering, drinks arrangements and gifts.

  
  

Oh, and don’t forget to actually have fun! Yes, you need to minimize risk and liability, but the event should still feel like a fun celebration of the season. It’s very easy to demotivate people, so don’t be a fun vacuum!

Inclusion

Following on from that last point, this one is so simple, but it’s forgotten so often! Not everyone celebrates Christmas. And that’s fine, not everyone has to! But forcing festive activities like a Secret Santa or Christmas Jumper day might make some staff feel uncomfortable, even if they don’t say so. That’s why it’s so important to stress that those things are optional.

It’s also worth remembering that many religious holidays happen around this time of year. Winter Solstice, Hannukah, Bodhi Day (which is Buddhist, and takes place on December 8^th) just to name a few. So, make sure you’re also including people who celebrate these holidays, and allow them the space and freedom to celebrate in their own way.

Hopefully you already have policies in place to head off a lot of these issues. But you still need to make sure you’re communicating effectively with your employees a good deal in advance about what the festive season might look like. If you need a hand figuring it out, writing policies or mopping up the mess if something does go wrong, I’d love to help! Just get in touch and book your free, no-obligation consultation.