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Christmas Party 2021! Cancel, or not?

Katherine

I am seeing articles in City AM and the FT of large companies (EY, Slaughter & May), who are cancelling their large firm wide Christmas parties in favour of smaller teams parties this year (due to Omicron, or Covid generally).

We are only a headcount of 60 and are still deciding what to do. What are you doing?

Parents

  • Although it can be HR making such recommendations I would have thought the person responsible for H&S would be the person to do so based on an up to date (i.e. this week) risk assessment. Very much an H&S issue more than a 'social' one.

  • in reply to Susan May
    It's not just a H&S issue, but a strategic one.

    If the business goes ahead with a party and then loses 20-25% of its labour to COVID infections over the next two months, that's a massive operational blow even before you take into account the H&S implications. Then one has to consider liability if the event led to staff infecting suppliers or customers, not to mention family members.

    I'm currently tangential to a legal case in which an employer is facing a PI claim due to the partner of an employee dying after the employee allegedly took inadequate steps to protect staff from infection.

    Obviously, government advice has an impact on the degree of financial liability a company may be held to have, but it has no influence on the loss of operational performance or the damage to reputation and relationships that may arise from being perceived to have acted recklessly in the name of a Christmas knees-up.
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  • in reply to Susan May
    It's not just a H&S issue, but a strategic one.

    If the business goes ahead with a party and then loses 20-25% of its labour to COVID infections over the next two months, that's a massive operational blow even before you take into account the H&S implications. Then one has to consider liability if the event led to staff infecting suppliers or customers, not to mention family members.

    I'm currently tangential to a legal case in which an employer is facing a PI claim due to the partner of an employee dying after the employee allegedly took inadequate steps to protect staff from infection.

    Obviously, government advice has an impact on the degree of financial liability a company may be held to have, but it has no influence on the loss of operational performance or the damage to reputation and relationships that may arise from being perceived to have acted recklessly in the name of a Christmas knees-up.
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