Somewhere in Christchurch an office manager is already ringing venues for the first week of December. Perhaps it’s already organised. Leave it later and the choice narrows to whatever nobody else wanted. The groundwork that secures a decent venue is also what keeps the night from becoming an employment problem.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a PCBU must ensure the health and safety of its workers so far as is reasonably practicable, and that duty doesn’t politely stop at 5pm on the second Friday in December. If the business organises the function, pays for it, invites staff and holds it out as a work event, it’s generally treated as an extension of the workplace, whether that’s the staff room, a spicy Riccarton restaurant or a boat in Lyttelton Harbour. Making attendance voluntary doesn’t change the analysis much. Most staff read an optional work function the way they read an optional 7am meeting.
The opposite myth needs killing. WorkSafe put out a release in December 2016 headlined “Health and safety isn’t the Christmas grinch”, knocking back claims that the Act had made decorations and dance floors legally radioactive. The test is what’s reasonably practicable, not what’s theoretically possible.
Almost every function that turns into a legal problem has alcohol somewhere in the chain. The Employers and Manufacturers Association’s November 2025 guidance is the least glamorous advice imaginable, which is why it works. Feed people properly. Make non-alcoholic options genuinely available rather than a jug of warm orange juice at the end of the table. Cap or close the tab at a set time. Nominate someone senior who isn’t drinking and whose job that night is noticing when things go sideways.
EMA manager of employment relations and safety Paul Jarvie put it bluntly, noting that “the full force of employment law, including health and safety and ACC, remain in force, particularly when alcohol is part of the equation.” If you have staff under 18, supplying them alcohol is a Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act matter first.
Transport is the cheapest risk management available. An employer that monitors the tab, arranges taxis or ride-share vouchers and sees people off safely sits in a different position from one that runs an open bar for four hours then turns the lights off.
Conduct obligations under the Employment Relations Act and the Human Rights Act are unaffected by the venue or the hour. In February 2025, a senior law firm partner faced the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal over his behaviour at two work Christmas parties, with junior staff describing a reluctance to speak up given his seniority. He was later suspended for 15 months. Before December, make sure staff know the conduct policy still applies and who to raise something with, and that it isn’t the person holding the microphone.
The rest is the enjoyable part. Tell people the format, who’s speaking and when it finishes, don’t build the evening around drinking, and let the early leavers leave.
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