Feature


Corporate Christmas Safe


and happy Christmas


If your budget won’t stretch to a Christmas party at a local restaurant or hotel and instead you shall be hosting the party in the workplace, care needs to be taken. Chamberlink offers the following safety advice.


Deck the halls – safely • Use a stepladder to put up decorations. Never stand on a swivel chair, as it could send you spinning to the ground.


• Offices are crammed with electrical appliances, which could be a fire hazard if their air vents get blocked. Remember to hang any tinsel or garlands well away from lights and other sources of heat, such as computers. Also, do not obscure emergency exit signs with decorations.


• Make sure Christmas tree lights meet modern safety standards, otherwise you may turn your tree and office into an inferno. Your company might not be insured for damage caused by non-tested electrical equipment.


• Make sure Christmas trees are secure, and won’t be knocked by people passing by or pulling cables.


• It might be best to leave out the mistletoe (and not just because the berries are poisonous). Cases of sexual harassment at parties are often excused as “a bit of fun” rather than a workplace issue. Case law suggests though that this is a very fine line. If a party is held at the employer's expense, and is clearly a works party, it’s likely any harassment would be covered by sexual harassment at work rules.


48 CHAMBERLINK September 2017


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