How to avoid the work Christmas party pitfalls: Sarah Coles

Before my boss reads this, I should make it clear that it’s not any workplace I’ve ever been in that’s at fault here. It’s me. When I leave my house, I like to wear a big jumper, get a seat and be able to hear myself think, and none of those things screams ‘party’ – more ‘library’. If you plan to venture out though, it’s worth avoiding the Christmas clangers, to ensure the festive period is good for your career – and your pay-packet - rather than denting them both.

Avoid the Christmas clangers

Treat the Christmas party as an extension of the workplace

Legally that’s exactly what it is, so anyone who behaves badly could find themselves at the sharp end of the disciplinary process. Some workplaces may relax the rules a bit as people let their hair down, but the usual rules officially apply, so don’t do anything stupid.

Bear in mind that someone else’s bad behaviour can get you into trouble

It can be tempting to gossip if someone has done something unexpected, but if you join in with gossip that’s likely to cause harm to someone else, you could face disciplinary action. In one famous case, post-party gossip gave rise to a successful constructive dismissal case.

Take care with the Secret Santa

If you’re in doubt over whether something is appropriate, it isn’t. One legal expert loves to tell the tale of an employee who was always late for work, and got an alarm clock as a Secret Santa gift. It was considered bullying, and the not-so-secret gift giver was disciplined.

Stay off social media.

If you want to post pictures of colleagues after a couple of shandies, make sure you have their permission – and not permission given when they might not be in a position to think it through. The best advice is to stay off social media altogether.

Don’t be tempted to throw a sickie

At the moment, there are all sorts of bugs doing the rounds, so nobody can complain if you end up bedridden. However, if it’s happening every Monday morning around the festive period, the day after the work Christmas party, or on the day you tried to take off and were refused, it’s not going to look good. Your employer has a duty to deal fairly with sickness absence, but the rules don’t stop them taking a very dim view of your actions.

Be careful about accepting gifts

There are all sorts of rules around accepting presents from people you know through work. In many cases they’re the result of your employer sticking with laws around bribery, so they’re not rules you can fudge. Check what your employer allows and what’s against the rules: it’s not worth losing your job over,

Don’t ruin everyone’s fun

If you’re a party pooper, it's not a great idea to show up to festive events and ruin everyone’s fun. If there’s an escape room planned and you don’t like the idea of ‘organised fun’, just stay home. It’s not going to improve your reputation if you show up and bellyache about it.

Stick with these Christmas crackers

Thank the people you have worked with

It’s easy to be so tied up in what you’re doing that you forget to take a step back and make sure your colleagues know how much you appreciate them. Christmas is a great opportunity to do just that, and thank those who have helped you during the year. You don’t have to give them anything to say thank you – but they’re unlikely to complain if you do.

Use the festive period as a chance to catch up

If your business has a festive lull at any stage, go for a coffee with people you’re usually too busy to catch up with. They may be open to a conversation at a time of year when people are feeling more sociable, so it’s a great time to build your network. Some people will also send Christmas cards to people they used to work with, to stay in touch, and remind them of the fabulous former colleague that could be perfect for their new business.

Work the Christmas party

There’s an incredibly fine line here. It’s never a good idea to try to start a career-defining conversation with someone who is just off the karaoke stage, but it can be a good opportunity to meet people and make connections.

Consider what you do beyond work

You don’t need a work-related reason to support local charities or schools, but when you’re volunteering this Christmas, think about whether you’re enjoying what you do, what skills you’re using, and whether this can be part of your work life too. Whether it inspires a complete career change or is just a new line on your CV, it all helps.

Get some perspective over Christmas

It can help to take some time to consider any issues you’re facing, or your career more broadly. When you’re in the thick of it, it can be difficult to see the woods for the trees, so you can use this breathing space to get some perspective.

Make a proper plan for your New Year salary requests

The best requests for a pay rise start with research. You can use the opportunity to check what’s on offer elsewhere, and gauge whether you’re being paid fairly. Then you can build a business case for the additional value you’re adding to the company, over and above what’s required from your job. If you know what you’re asking for and have a good reason why, you stand a much better chance of success.

Having said all of that, personally I’ll be hunkering down at home with a vat of hot chocolate and trying to keep my family on an even keel over the Christmas break. If I really want to live it up, I might just venture out to the library. There’s really nothing wrong with using Christmas as a chance to put your feet up and forget all about work.

Why gift cards are a terrible present

If you’re at the desperate end of the Christmas list, you’d be forgiven for thinking gift cards are a handy solution: a brilliant halfway house between trying to find something for people you don’t know well enough, and giving up and handing over cash. However, in many ways they’re the worst of all worlds.

If the company goes out of business before they have a chance to spend the voucher, it will be up to the administrators whether they continue to accept vouchers, so they could be worth nothing. You can stick with big brands as a precaution, but it’s not always foolproof – we all know the household names that have gone bust recently.

Even if the shop sticks around, there’s a real risk they won’t get round to spending it anyway. An estimated £300 million in vouchers and gift cards expires unspent every year. There’s also the fact that it can be hard to spend the exact amount. On average, people using gift cards spend 40% more than the value of the voucher, so it ends up costing them money.

Finally, if you’re choosing to give a gift card because you’re worried that cash would get absorbed into everyday spending, then ask yourself whether that would be so bad. If what they really need is money for essentials, then that might be the best Christmas present of all.

SARAH COLES Head of Personal Finance and Podcast Host for Switch Your Money On Headline Money Press Team of the Year Hargreaves Lansdown