The office Christmas party is a longstanding British institution, typically synonymous with the staff reinventing the photocopier as a type of x-rated Polaroid camera and tinsel adorning the ceiling, as staff sing along to Wizard. Since the economic downturn, corporate Christmas parties have been in decline as bosses slash budgets or do not wish to appear insensitive in the light of redundancies. However, whilst this is understandable and to a point admirable, workers have never been more deserving of a Christmas party being stretched every further due to redundancies. Cancelling the Christmas party could work out very expensive for your business as low staff morale spreads quickly leading to high staff turnovers or increased levels of absence through sickness.
Cancelling the office party would prevent awkward recollections the next morning at the water cooler, but employers are being warned doing so could have a devastating impact on business. In a survey commissioned by The Chartered Management Institute, they found that two-thirds of managers believe Christmas parties are important in helping to improve employee engagement. Ambi Bilga Director of Christmas Corporation an events company said “we have seen a big increase this year in the number of companies coming to us for their Christmas parties, it’s something that employees look forward to and in turn this has a positive effect on productivity.”
There is a way of having a Christmas party without eating into valuable profits. As a business you can offset the cost of the party against your tax bill for the year, there is a maximum tax allowance of £150 per person, including VAT. The only condition is that it has to be an annual event and open to all employees this includes partners or husbands and wives attending the party too! It can be spent on anything you choose, so long as it is party related, such as accommodation, food, entertainment and travel! So not only will you save money, keep staff happy but you will also avoid appearing insensitive in a market of many redundancies.
So take heed from the story of Scrooge and embrace the Christmas spirit with your employees and reap the benefits for your business.