As the festive season is upon us, many employers will be hosting and staging Christmas parties all over the country. As fun as they are, there are some important considerations that employers should be mindful of beforehand.

Firstly it should be remembered that Christmas is a Christian holiday, so it is advisable not to pressure all employees to attend, particularly if they don't want to on grounds of religion. Also, as Christmas parties are often held outside of office hours, many employees with family responsibilities may not be able to attend, so no pressure should be put on such employees.

Employers providing a free bar or running a drinks tab should consider the consequences of excess. One such case in the UK involved employees getting drunk and having a fight, after a seminar on improving behavioural skills. They were successful in establishing that their resulting dismissals from employment were unfair as the employer had provided a free bar and thus condoned their behaviour.

Employers should also be mindful that there may be employees under 18 in the workplace who should not have access to alcohol. Employment policies such as bullying and harassment and discrimination should still apply at the party and employers should make sure that all employees are aware of this. It is important to note that employment equality legislation applies regardless of the location of the party. Employers should also remind supervisors and managers that the party is not the time for conducting informal performance reviews.

Further, if you have traditionally paid a discretionary Christmas bonus, staff could argue that it has become contractual through custom and practice. Therefore, if you are unable to pay a bonus this year, this should be communicated clearly to the staff and an alternative and amicable solution agreed.

Finally, employers should take note that when organising Christmas parties, there may be challenges for certain employees getting home.

In these cases you should consider alternatives or arrange overnight accommodation or some form of transport or provide details of taxi companies and agree to pay all or a proportion of the fare.

Oisin Scollard is a barrister and legal counsel with legal HR company www.employmentclinic.ie