We all deserve some fun this Christmas. Being in lockdown doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a safe, socially distanced Christmas party. In fact, through researching the many options of how to hold an online Christmas party, it could be more fun than the real thing. Below are some great party ideas.
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‘Tis the Season of Abundance and Joy!
Christmas parties can be a mixed blessing. They’re good to help both keep morale high and reward staff for a good year. But parties are not always without their problems– you can’t totally control all your staff, especially after a drink or two! Also,not everyone likes parties, so don’t make them compulsory, as some people find social situations too overwhelming.
Costing on average around £50 per head, produce an Office Party Policy to set expectations on behaviour, backed up with a Social Media policy warning staff not to post inappropriate photographs and risk damaging your brand’s reputation. Email all staff a couple of weeks prior to the event, attaching the policies, to bothremind them of the details of the party and your expectations of theirbehaviour, gently stating that the party is an extension of their working hours.
Remember, as the employer, you’re ultimately responsible for any shenanigans! So to avoid any pit falls and embarrassment, set up the ground rules first. Then relax and enjoy the event with your staff.
The ‘Alternative’Festive Menu
Cocktails and Wine
Can you guess which member of staff will be the one who gets a bit tipsy first?There’s always that one! Then there’s the wine lover who ends up getting a bit emotional, and the beer quaffer who may get opinionated, offering unwanted advice to all and sundry. Not forgetting the cocktail lover who thinks they’re the life and soul of the party! You know the ones. But we’re all human, and we all have our little foibles, whether alcohol induced or otherwise. So let themenjoy themselves, in moderation – you, too. Relax and enjoy a glass or three. Just remember not to make any drunken promises to your staff that could bite you in the backside later. Finally, make sure you have plenty of soft drinks available,too.
Your Starter for Ten
Everyone loves a traditional prawn cocktail or salmon starter. Or do they? Perhaps a member of your team is allergic to shellfish. Remember to check for allergies prior to the event.
Going Crackers
No Christmas meal is complete without pulling crackers, donning hats, enjoying the cheap gifts and laughing at the lame jokes. But once the crackers are pulled, keep an eye out for staff going crackers, or flirting inappropriately to try and ‘pull’ a colleague. Gentle flirting is one thing, but let’s keep it atthat, guys! Your policy should remind staff that what one person may find funny,another may find offensive – the last thing you want is a grievance about someone’s behaviour when you all return to work.
What a Turkey!
Onto the main course. Things are getting serious now … or seriously silly! But when it comes to the meat, consider those people of different faiths. Have you ensured there are Halal or Kosher choices, and vegetarian alternatives? Did you check that anyone has any other dietary needs? For the meal to be a success,and for your staff to feel appreciated, valued and listened to, getting this bit right is essential.
Brussels Sprouts – Loathe ‘em or Love ‘em?
I love Brussels Sprouts, especially stir-fried with garlic, chilli and ginger. But not everyone does. The point I’m making here is to not treat everyone the same and assume they all want or need the same thing. I’m not just talking about the festive season, either – don’t look at your staff as a whole but see them as individuals, too, with different needs.
Christmas Pud with Lashings of Brandy Butter
Of course, some people may prefer mince pies, and others may loathe desserts with dried fruit. Ensure there’s a variety of desserts available so that people don’t feel left out – just as can happen with equality issues in the workplace.It’s important to cater for and embrace all desserts, tastes, ethnicities and sexual preferences so that everyone feels included.
Secret Santa
Many people love the secret swapping of silly gifts at Christmas. But what happens when someone opens a present that they find inappropriate, or worse still,offensive? Make sure you communicate with staff well in advance of the event. Make it clear that if they want to take part in the Secret Santa, gifts should be respectable and sensible. This can be subjective, of course, but most people should understand the sort of gifts to be avoided.
Taxi!
It’s over! Everyone’s talked, eaten, laughed, joked, enjoyed a tipple or two and hopefully had fun. Now it’s time to get everyone home safely. Did you know that it’s your responsibility as the employer to ensure that drunk staff get homesafely? If budget allows, arrange mini-buses or taxis in advance, or designated drivers for groups. Or at least encourage your staff to check the last bus andtrain times and provide the number of a couple of cab companies.
Finally,if you’ve chosen to have your Christmas event mid-week (not advisable), make sure that everyone had plenty of prior warning that they are expected in work the next day, fully functioning!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year!
Your Essential Employment Law Updates
Keeping yourself knowledgeable and up to date about the latest in employment law isn’t easy when you’re running a business. Instead, you can rely on me to help you remain legally compliant. So here is my summary of a few of the topics we discussed at last month’s Employment Law Workshop:
Zero Hours Contracts
A zero hours contract is helpful for new businesses as they become established, and small businesses. However, it’s important to remember that employees under a zero hours contract are also entitled to the same statutory rights as any other employee, such as annual leave, sickness, termination, and so on. Even if they don’t work many hours.
Despite the fact that an employer is not obliged to provide work under a zero hours contract, the employee is required to accept it when it is offered and, arguably, this is sufficient to amount to mutuality of obligation.
ICO Fees from May 2018
Since GDPR was introduced, it is a legal requirement for all organisations to pay an annual data protection fee to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office).
There are three tiers of fee payments that are dependent on your organisation’s size and turnover. Some organisations, such as charities and small occupational pension schemes, only need to pay £40 regardless of size and turnover. The tiers are as follows:
- Tier one – £40 annual fee
- Organisations with a maximum turnover of £632,000, or ten or fewer staff
- Charities
- Small occupational pension schemes
- Tier two – £60 annual fee
- Organisations that do not fall into tier one and have a maximum turnover of £36 million, or 250 or fewer staff
- Tier three – £2,900 annual fee
- Organisations that do not fall into tiers one or two, and that have a turnover of over £36 million, and more than 250 staff
To register with the ICO, find out more and pay your fee, click here.
No Right to Work in the UK
When recruiting, it’s essential to thoroughly check the candidate’s right to work in the UK. This involves checking and taking copies of documents such as passports, proof of address, proof of residence, etc. It’s important that you see the original documents and that they are valid. Throughout this process, be careful not to discriminate against anyone based solely on their race.
Gov.uk says to check that:
- The documents are genuine, original and unchanged, and belong to the person who gave them to you
- The dates for the applicant’s right to work in the UK have not expired
- Photos are the same across all documents and look like the applicant
- Dates of birth are the same across all documents
- The applicant has permission to do the type of work you’re offering (including any limit on the number of hours they can work)
- For students, you see evidence of their study and vacation times
- If two documents give different names, the applicant has supporting documents showing why they’re different, such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree.
Remember that the original permission to work in the UK can expire, so it’s important to make regular checks on your current employees – you could face civil or criminal penalties if you’re found to be employing people who do not have the right to work in the UK.
The Gov.uk website provides some useful guides to help employers do this.
Christmas Parties – Preventing Problems whilst Having Fun!
It’s always good to have work parties, both for the fun and to celebrate the season, and also to help keep morale high whilst rewarding staff for a good year. But parties are not always without their problems. Costing on average around £50 per head, I always recommend that an Office Party policy should be drawn up to set expectations on behaviour. Key points should be:
- Christmas celebrations should be viewed as an extension of the workplace
- Celebrate responsibly
- Expect high standards of conduct while still having fun
- Let your hair down, but not yourself or your employers
- Employees should not post photographs or videos of themselves, colleagues or other attendees and third parties (e.g. venue staff) at the event on the Internet or any social media websites.
If you have any queries on current employment law legislation and how it affects your business, or any other staff issues, do call me on 0118 940 3032 or click here to email me.
The 12 Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, a Contract in a pear tree. Make sure that you have up to date contracts for all your employees.
On the second day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, two boxing gloves. Don’t go picking a fight with your employees just because they don’t do what you want them to do. Learn to manage them properly!
On the third day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, three French Hens. If you have employees from Europe, keep an eye on our blog for news of how Brexit could affect your employees and your business.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, four dreaded words. “You have been fired!” Before you rush to sack anyone, check to make sure you have a good reason and make sure you do it properly.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, five golden things. Here are the five stages of HR that your business will go through.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, six staff-a-laying. Keep your employees delivering all those golden eggs, to the best of their ability, by looking for ways to develop them and their performance.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, seven swans-a-swimming. If, like a swan, you’re all grace and elegance above water, while below you’re frantically paddling to keep afloat of all things HR, just get in touch to see how we can help.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, eight maids-a-milking. Except that these days, you have to let the men do the milking too, if they want to! You’re not allowed to discriminate. Acas can help you create a fair workplace.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, nine ladies dancing. And the men can dance too!
On the tenth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, ten lords (and ladies) leaping at the Christmas party. Make sure you lay down a few rules for proper behaviour, so that things don’t get out of hand.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, eleven pipers piping. Make a big noise when your staff do a great job. Look for the best way to reward them.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, twelve drummers drumming. I keep drumming good HR practices into my clients’ businesses, to help them grow successful companies that are great places to work.
Merry Christmas …
And have a stress free New Year with lots of happy, productive employees!
Can Santa Get the Sack?
Can Santa get the sack?
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat … but so is Santa! He’s now too big to fit down the chimney; the elves think they have man flu; and Rudolf says the roads are blocked with snow so he can’t get to work!
You might think that Christmas runs smoothly at the North Pole – after all, they have all year to plan it. However, this year there are a few problems for the Head Reindeer (HR) department to sort out.
Father Christmas is too big to fit down the chimney. All year Santa has been relaxing at the North Pole and as a result, his girth has expanded somewhat. The Head Reindeer is worried that he won’t be able to do his job properly – after all, he is supposed to climb down chimneys in order to deliver presents. Can he get the sack for not being able to carry out the work in his job description? If Santa is morbidly obese and can’t carry out his daily tasks, he could be classed as disabled. This means that sacking him because of his girth may be discrimination – something the Head Reindeer would like to avoid!
The elves think they have ‘man flu’. They’re sneezing and coughing and their noses are running, so they’re really like to stay in bed – especially during December when work gets really busy. Are they allowed to take time off sick, when Father Christmas thinks they just have colds? Staff taking time off for sickness usually increases over the winter months, so the Head Reindeer will need to speak to each of the elves and find out what’s actually wrong with them and make sure they have the right evidence to support the reasons for their absence. Keeping in contact with sick staff is always a good idea. After all, how can Christmas carry on without the elves?
Rudolf says the roads are blocked with snow. He says he can’t get to the office because of the weather conditions. He can’t really work from home, although for some staff, it’s worth setting up remote access, so that they can still work, even if they’re not in the office. The Head Reindeer needs to make sure that the Staff Handbook is up to date, to cover issues like bad weather. And he needs to find out how else to get Rudolf to work, if there is snow on the road, or Christmas might have to be cancelled.
With a little bit of forward planning (and perhaps some advice from an expert) the Head Reindeer (HR) manager will be able to make sure that everything goes to plan for a great Christmas. At least he can let all the elves take time off together, once the festive period is over!
Scrooge’s Guide to Presents
In case you missed my December email newsletter, here’s a catch up for you!
The start of a new year is the time when some businesses think about how best to reward their staff for their hard work over the last 12 months. Instead of a one-off ‘thank you’, what about putting a more ongoing, sustainable rewards scheme in place?
Here’s the story of how one Dickensian employer got it right!
Ebenezer Scrooge loved Christmas! He really enjoyed giving his staff time off, to spend with their families over Christmas. He encouraged them to go Christmas shopping and to send cards to all their friends.
Mr Scrooge even loved giving presents to his staff. But he often struggled to find the best gift for each person. So one year, had a great idea. Instead of buying each member of his team a gift at Christmas, Mr Scrooge decided to set up a reward system for all his staff, which would run all through the year, rewarding them on an ongoing basis for their hard work.
Here’s what Ebenezer Scrooge did to create the best Christmas present that lasts for 12 months:
- He put a structure in place – just a simple one to begin with
- He took the time to identify the things that were really important to his staff – including non-financial benefits – and incorporated them into his strategy
- He invested in making his company an interesting and fulfilling place to work. This helped him to attract great people and helped keep overall pay costs down
- He created a scheme that was simple to understand, so that his line managers didn’t struggle to explain it. They were key to making his reward structure a success
- He didn’t assume that it was just about pay. According to research that Mr Scrooge read, some executives would consider a pay cut of up to 35% in order to get their ideal job.
- Then he reviewed the scheme and the effect it had on his staff throughout the year, to make sure he was still getting it right
- And finally he enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer amongst his staff all year long and they loved working for him!
Think about how you can engage your staff beyond Christmas by setting up a reward scheme this year.
Scrooge’s Guide to Christmas Presents
As the end of the year approaches, it’s the time when some businesses think about how best to reward their staff for their hard work over the last 12 months. But will a one-off ‘thank you’ have the right effect, or would you be better off putting a more ongoing, sustainable rewards scheme in place?
Here’s the story of how one Dickensian employer got it right!
Ebenezer Scrooge loved Christmas! He really enjoyed giving his staff time off, to spend with their families over Christmas. He encouraged them to go Christmas shopping and to send cards to all their friends.
Mr Scrooge even loved giving presents to his staff. But he often struggled to find the best gift for each person. So one year, had a great idea. Instead of buying each member of his team a gift at Christmas, Mr Scrooge decided to set up a reward system for all his staff, which would run all through the year, rewarding them on an ongoing basis for their hard work.
Here’s what Ebenezer Scrooge did to create the best Christmas present that lasts for 12 months:
- He put a structure in place – just a simple one to begin with
- He took the time to identify the things that were really important to his staff – including non-financial benefits – and incorporated them into his strategy
- He invested in making his company an interesting and fulfilling place to work. This helped him to attract great people and helped keep overall pay costs down
- He created a scheme that was simple to understand, so that his line managers didn’t struggle to explain it. They were key to making his reward structure a success
- He didn’t assume that it was just about pay. According to research that Mr Scrooge read, some executives would consider a pay cut of up to 35% in order to get their ideal job.
- Then he reviewed the scheme and the effect it had on his staff throughout the year, to make sure he was still getting it right
- And finally he enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer amongst his staff all year long and they loved working for him!
Think about how you can engage your staff beyond Christmas by setting up a reward scheme next year.
Scrooge’s Guide to Presents
In case you missed my December email newsletter, here’s a catch up for you!
The start of a new year is the time when some businesses think about how best to reward their staff for their hard work over the last 12 months. Instead of a one-off ‘thank you’, what about putting a more ongoing, sustainable rewards scheme in place?
Here’s the story of how one Dickensian employer got it right!
Ebenezer Scrooge loved Christmas! He really enjoyed giving his staff time off, to spend with their families over Christmas. He encouraged them to go Christmas shopping and to send cards to all their friends.
Mr Scrooge even loved giving presents to his staff. But he often struggled to find the best gift for each person. So one year, had a great idea. Instead of buying each member of his team a gift at Christmas, Mr Scrooge decided to set up a reward system for all his staff, which would run all through the year, rewarding them on an ongoing basis for their hard work.
Here’s what Ebenezer Scrooge did to create the best Christmas present that lasts for 12 months:
- He put a structure in place – just a simple one to begin with
- He took the time to identify the things that were really important to his staff – including non-financial benefits – and incorporated them into his strategy
- He invested in making his company an interesting and fulfilling place to work. This helped him to attract great people and helped keep overall pay costs down
- He created a scheme that was simple to understand, so that his line managers didn’t struggle to explain it. They were key to making his reward structure a success
- He didn’t assume that it was just about pay. According to research that Mr Scrooge read, some executives would consider a pay cut of up to 35% in order to get their ideal job.
- Then he reviewed the scheme and the effect it had on his staff throughout the year, to make sure he was still getting it right
- And finally he enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer amongst his staff all year long and they loved working for him!
Think about how you can engage your staff beyond Christmas by setting up a reward scheme this year.