Tips for Employers About Alcohol at Company Events

Tips for Employers About Alcohol at Company EventsTips for Employers About Alcohol at Company EventsDo you provide alcohol beer, wine, or spirits, for employees to drink at work-related events? If so, youve probably spent time thinking about whether this is a good practice. You want your employees to enjoy their work-related events and parties, but you also want to keep your employees safe. Be Responsible You need to minimize the legal liability of your organization yet not let legal worries dictate your relationship with your employees. A holiday party is not the only event where an employee may face the question of decidingwhether to drink or not at business events employers plan all sorts of events that serve alcohol. The bottom line is making the decision about what and how much before arriving at the party. Whether your event is a company milestone or birthday, an employees retirement party, or a holiday event, use unterstellung tips to plan an alcohol safe event. Emphasi ze Company Culture Talk about your company culture with employees emphasizing that drinking to excess is unacceptable during company events. Include alcohol usage guidance in your company code of conduct. For instance, it should never be OK for employees and applicants to drink alcohol during a job interview. Drinking at lunch job interviews should also be discouraged. You need to assess the applicants fit with your organization without the influence of alcohol. And, if youre considering drinking with a client or customer, drink only if the client is drinking, and the recommended limit in a client or customer meeting is one glass of wine or a beer. Dont Make Alcohol the Focus of Work Events Offer a variety of interesting, non-alcoholic beverages, to remove the emphasis from alcohol. And never make drinking, or eating, for that matter, the main focus of any event. Always make entertainment, speeches, presentations, company logo items to purchase with points earned, games, dancin g and/or activities for employees to participate in, the main focus of any company team building events. Consider serving just beer and wine, and no liquor. Avoid serving drinks such as fruit punch that limit an employees ability to assess how much alcohol they are drinking. Put Restrictions on How Much Is Available Limit the number of drinks the company provides by using drink tickets or another informal method of tracking the amount of alcohol served. If you want to limit alcohol consumption, consider stamping an employees hand in exchange for each drink you will want to limit the number of stamps an employee can receive. Limit the number of hours that the bar is open. Close the bar during dinner and at a reasonable time to signal the drawing to a close and ending of the event. You might also consider holding the event directly after work so employees party from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. for example. Use trained bartenders to serve alcohol never allow employees to serve coworkers or the mselves. Never provide a help-yourself beverage bar that includes alcohol. Make sure your bartenders are clear that they are not to serve alcohol to any person who appears to be inebriated. Bartenders must card these employees just as if they were attempting to order booze in a local tavern. Pay for the event, the food, non-alcoholic drinks, and entertainment, but provide a cash bar for employees. When employees have to purchase their own drinks, they drink less. Hold Alcohol-Free Work Events Nix alcohol except for beer and wine at company events that include children. For example, one company stopped serving liquor at work events that included families when several irresponsible employees started drinking shots in front of other employees children. It was the last straw. Provide a late night snack buffet before employees hit the road to end a company event. It doesnt have to be elaborate tacos, sloppy joes, hot dogs, popcorn, cold cuts, cheese and crackers, coffee, and soft dri nks provide a focus for employees other than alcoholic beverages. Prepare for (Some) Overindulgence Recruit your managers and event planning committee members, in advance, to keep their eyes open for employees who may be overindulging. Offer the employee a ride home, call a cab, or make certain that a designated non-drinking driver takes the wheel. Pay for cabs to sit outside your event in case an employee is advised or decides that he or she cannot drive safely. Or schedule the event at a location that offers easy access to public transportation. Be Sure Youre Covered Legally Take a look at your company insurances to determine whether you have the appropriate coverage that allows you to serve alcohol at company events You may also want to consider asking employees to review and sign a document that provides company alcoholic beverage guidelines, and that informs employees they are liable for their behavior at company-sponsored events. Make the document clear that employees can expect punishment for over-imbibing or poor interpersonal behavior up to and including employment termination. You can do this as employees RSVP for the work event. Alcohol can be a festive addition to a company event, but at company events, as in your workplace, employee safety is your top concern.