SWINDON business experts have offered advice on how to avoid embarassing disasters at upcoming Christmas parties.

It's that time of year when colleagues get together to let their hair down and be merry ahead of the new year - sometimes a bit too merry.

Louise Skittrall is the founder of Robinson Grace HR Consultancy, which is based in Lydiard Millicent.

She said: "I've seen many a Christmas party go pear-shaped with career-ending scenarios from festive fumbles, sexual harassment, punch-ups, drug taking and many an affair beginning, including with clients on occasion.

"The one HR Christmas case I recall over all others was at an organisation where account managers were encouraged to choose a personal gift for their key client contact.

"The CEO returned from his Christmas break to a client asking to be assigned a different account manager due to this gifting strategy. The client had been sent a vibrator and had a hard time explaining to his wife that he had no idea why that would have been deemed appropriate.

"Organisations must be mindful that, despite generally being out of hours, a Christmas party can still be seen as a work event and, as such, employers continue to have a duty of care to employees and may find themselves liable if poor conduct is condoned or misconduct occurs.

"The reputational damage that can be caused if clients are included in events means that most employers decide to make Christmas parties employee-only.

"With fewer parties over the past couple of years due to the pandemic, 2022 could be a wild one, so we're bracing ourselves for a barrage of client calls in December and into the New Year."

Samuel Mather-Holgate works at Old Town advisory firm Mather & Murray Financial.

He said: "We used to have our Christmas party on a Thursday but changed it to a Friday last year.

"Although more expensive, it saved me looking at everyone's poor faces the morning after the night before - and that's priceless.

"I used to work for a big bank and we went to a swanky hotel in Bournemouth. After going to bed at midnight, I woke up a couple of hours later to another financial adviser jumping up and down on my bed in his undercrackers.

"He thought it was his room and asked hotel staff to open it as he had forgotten his key, and left his trousers somewhere.

"I wouldn't recommend drinking as much as he did. My other top tip is, if allowed, take your partner. They tend to keep you in check."