Serving Alcohol at Events: Employer Liability
If you are serving alcohol at an office party on your premises, you should take certain precautions. Your organization may be held liable for damages an intoxicated employee causes after leaving the party. You can read more about how to avoid alcohol at work-related incidents here.
When you are serving alcohol at your company event, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:
– tell employees in advance that you will be serving alcohol; they should not drink at the party and drive
– provide taxi chits to all employees who attend the party, or arrange for designated drivers
– limit the number of drinks provided to each person
– do not have an open or self-serve bar
– hire professionally trained servers and specifically direct them to stop serving alcohol to intoxicated people
For more information about how to navigate workplace complaints, please read our other blog, and please feel free to contact us at 1-800- 640-1728 or at [email protected]
Recent Posts
Constructive Dismissal Update: Employee Alleging Workplace Harassment Barred from Pursuing a Civil Claim
An employee quit her employment because of workplace harassment and filed a constructive dismissal action. The Employer brought an application under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (the “WSIA”) and convinced an adjudicator that the action was statute barred....
Wrongful Dismissal Update: Judge Upholds Just Cause Termination for a 30 Year Employee Who Touched a Co-Workers Buttock
After a 10 day trial, an Ontario judge recently concluded that touching a female’s buttock in the presence of four witnesses, who had conflicting versions of what happened, was just cause for termination for an employee with 30 years service who had a clean...
Termination Clauses: (Yet) Another One Bites the Dust
The issue of whether a termination clause limits an employee’s entitlement to the minimum notice set out in the Employment Standards Act may be the most litigated issue in employment law over the past 5 years.