Christmas carols may be encouraging breaches of occupational safety and health requirements and discrimination laws. Have a look at these ones…
1. Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way …
A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.
2. While Shepherds Watched
While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around .
The Shepherds Union has complained that it breaches Health and Safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that, due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year, they should watch their flocks via CCTV cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts.
Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around he / she must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.
3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.
You are advised that under the Equal Opportunity Act, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment with regard to the ruddiness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from the Reindeer Games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence. A full investigation will be implemented and sanctions – including suspension on full pay – will be considered whilst this investigation takes place.
On a more serious note, Christmas can bring out a lot of Christmas cheer, some of it alcohol induced. To ensure your workplace provides a safe enjoyable Christmas function for all keep these things in mind-
- be considerate of diversity and cross-cultural needs of employees when planning events;
- ensure the provision of soft drinks, iced water, light alcoholic drinks and adequate food;
- ensure under age employees do not consume alcohol;
- remind employees of appropriate behavior and the consequences of not acting appropriately including encouraging employees to come forward if something potentially wrong happened to them or another
- encourage the use of taxis, public transport and non-drinking skippers;
- issue reminders about the dangers of drink driving and encouraging guests to leave their cars at home if they intend to drink;
- ask intoxicated employees to stop drinking and making safe transport arrangements to ensure they do not drive home;
- ensure finishing times for functions are reasonable;
- ensure that there is no automatic topping up of drinks; and
- if gifts are to be exchanged at your Christmas function, set rules for the types of gifts to be exchanged to avoid offending anyone.
With these suggestions in mind we trust your work place will have a fun and safe Christmas function.
