Written by Abby Hawkes | 9th December 2025
For employers, workplace festive celebrations present a delicate balancing act – fostering seasonal excitement while ensuring inclusivity, respect, and the safety and wellbeing of all employees.
It’s important that your business comes together for well-deserved celebrations at the end of the year, but it’s also important everyone remembers to uphold their normal respectful standards of behaviour when away from their normal work environments and routines. We’ve put together three practical tips to help you host a memorable Christmas party that keeps the festivities joyful and the risks minimal.
Making sure your celebrations are inclusive
Good employers understand the value of diversity within their business. Having a workplace enriched by different ages, cultures, abilities, religious beliefs and personality types is a strength that brings together a wealth of perspectives and experiences. Celebrations should reflect this inclusivity, ensuring everyone feels welcome and appreciated during the festive season.
Some choices should be second nature by now – such as ensuring celebrations aren’t solely centred around alcohol and providing non-alcoholic options for people who don’t want to drink.
If you’re providing food, ensure you offer diverse options that respect different dietary requirements, including those based on religious beliefs.
However, it’s also important to consider the range of different personality types and personal preferences within your business, for example introverts and extroverts, whilst also considering those with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. We recently published a Guide to Neurodiversity at Work, which may help give you some pointers on this topic.
While activities like axe throwing, escape rooms or party nights with loud music might be fun for many, they may not suit everyone. It’s also essential that you carefully consider employees who do not celebrate Christmas. You should ensure they feel included in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
With all employees, you should assure them it’s OK if they would prefer not to be included and it should not be held against them. If you can, provide alternative arrangements for those who would prefer not to be included.
Tip number 1: Make sure you consider the personalities, preferences and beliefs of your employees when planning your party. Look to continue this in the New Year back in the workplace with our Insights Discovery sessions which offer valuable understanding of team personalities, dynamics and relationships, helping to foster collaboration, communication and success throughout the year.
Making sure behaviour standards don’t slip during celebrations
There has never been greater responsibility on employers to proactively protect their people from inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, and this extends to work-related social events.
The most recent example is the Worker Protection Act, and we discuss here how the legislation imposes legal obligations on employers to actively take steps to prevent sexual harassment. However, employers should prevent all forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment, and Dignity at Work training for managers and employees is one of the reasonable steps employers are expected to take to ensure everyone knows what behaviours are and are not acceptable and how any issues will be addressed.
In response to the new legislation, employers are undertaking Harassment Risk Assessments to identify the actions they must take to prevent harassment, and social events must also be covered as part of this.
Communicating with your employees is important, so they are left in no doubt that your festive celebration is still a work event, and that workplace standards around safe and respectful interactions still apply.
Set ground rules before the day and, through written policy and communications, make clear that inappropriate behaviour in any work environment is not tolerated and could lead to disciplinary action.
Tip number 2: Preparing for the Christmas party is a good opportunity to review the behaviour standards, policies and reporting methods that you should have in place all year round – and, especially, to ensure you are taking the “reasonable steps” required under the Worker Protection Act. Download our Dignity at Work checklist to see how your organisation measures up.
Handling misconduct and reporting procedures
Even with up-to-date policies carefully communicated to managers and employees, inappropriate behaviour can still occur. The risk heightens at Christmas parties. Recent research suggests that 29% of employees won’t attend or are undecided about attending due to prior concerns.
So, it’s vital that your organisation has clear protocols in place for reporting any incidents – and for addressing them. Employees must trust that any issues they experience will be dealt with sensitively and robustly, otherwise they will not report it, and the behaviour is likely to happen again.
Train your managers to investigate issues appropriately, and swiftly. Make sure they know how to have difficult and sensitive conversations, with all people who may be involved. Give them clear guidance on fair outcomes when making decisions following accusations.
Make sure everyone knows how to report an issue and provide multiple ways of reporting it. The ability to report issues anonymously is important, and technology can help with this.
If an allegation is made, acknowledge the claim promptly, stress that it will be taken seriously, and carry out a prompt and thorough investigation that is fair to both sides. Failing to do so would not only let your employees down but would also risk non-compliance with the Worker Protection Act.
If a complaint is upheld, ensure outcomes are communicated appropriately, assess what went wrong and strengthen policies and training where needed. Again, a failure to react promptly and thoroughly after a complaint could mean your organisation falls foul of the Act. If a Tribunal claim is made, there could be 25% uplift on any financial penalty against your business.
Tip number 3: Proactive risk management, clarifying your policies and processes, and regular training is key to preventing sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviours and complying with the Worker Protection Act. Contact Reality HR’s specialists for support with crafting tailored anti-harassment and Dignity at Work policies, including advice on setting up reporting channels.
Looking for more tips about how to make your Christmas party safe and inclusive? See our blogs Maintaining office etiquette during the festive season and 5 golden rules for employers throwing a Christmas party.
If you have any questions, please contact our team at info@realityhr.co.uk or 01256 328 428.
About the author: Abby Hawkes, HR Advisor
With over 13 years of experience in HR, Abby is a dedicated professional who excels in all areas of generalist HR and enjoys HR project work. She has experience in employee relations, including performance management, disciplinary and grievance processes, and redundancies as well as broad generalist HR practises.
At Reality HR, Abby supports a diverse range of clients in construction, engineering, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries, with businesses ranging from 15 to 250 employees. She is skilled in developing employee handbooks and policies, ensuring that her clients have the tools they need to succeed. Known for her friendly and approachable nature, Abby strives to create positive, trusting, and open relationships with her clients. She enjoys working through challenges together with her clients to find the best outcomes.