The alcohol-fuelled office Christmas party is becoming a thing of the past in Australia now that lawyers are willing to start the new year by sending out compensation claims for staff injured during the big night in the office.
Rather than buy food and drink for the staff get-together after work, bosses are now treating their staff to lunches in posh restaurants where someone else has the responsibility for their behaviour, Queensland University law lecturer Norman Katter said on Tuesday.
”It’s the responsibility of the individual, but unfortunately the law also says where an organiser is providing alcohol then they also may have a duty of care,” Katter said. ”Simply put, there is an assumption of responsibility once you conduct an office Christmas party.”
Liability insurance for the office party is increasingly expensive because more staff are willing to launch compensation claims in the courts.
A survey by online restaurant guide Menulog found only a third of employers would be attending office parties against 42% who were being treated to a meal in a restaurant.
David Thompson from law firm Hunt & Hunt warned employers that beer and pizza before the Christmas break could land them with compensation claims from staff injured or upset by the evening’s events.
”Companies and business owners need to be mindful that with end-of-year festivities under way, exposure to risks from substance abuse by staff members involving alcohol or drugs is substantially increased,” Thompson told Australia’s AAP news agency. — Sapa-dpa