Fear of being held liable for inappropriate actions or remarks made by staff is the biggest concern of HR professionals at Christmas parties, exclusive PersonnelToday.com research reveals.
In an online competition to find out the worst Christmas party stories, almost 600 HR professionals recalled their most horrendous experiences.
One described “an ‘open house’ type party to which clients/customers were invited as well as staff”.
“A large attendance ensued resulting in one person falling down a flight of stairs and an ambulance being called, three comatose bodies in the toilets and as a finale the ceiling of the ground floor coming down due to over enthusiastic ‘elephant’ dancing on the first floor. Never again.”
Another said: “One IT manager was so drunk at the party they vomited in the wardrobe and bed and then had to take the next three days off work with alcohol poisoning. As our conference was the next day and the IT system didn’t work we had to arrange for a colleague to drive down to the hotel – two hours away – to solve the problem which cost us half a day of conference.”
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One more said: “Three senior managers went missing during the party. All three were having sex with their subordinates: the general manager with the catering manageress, his deputy with his secretary and the office manager with one of the clerks. The company asked all three for their resignation, which they gave. The deputy general manager got divorced and married his secretary.”
For details on the 10 winners of the competition, each of whom will receive a 25 Marks & Spencer voucher, go to www.personneltoday.com/competitions
