Alcohol - how many units can your business take?

It’s not always easy to draw the line between what people do in their own time, which is arguably not the employer’s concern, and what happens in the workplace.  Surely, it is not the employer’s place to dictate what their employees do in the evenings or at weekends?

Live and let live!

And yet, when you consider the potential consequences to you and your company of employees being unfit for work due to alcohol consumption, you will realise that it is very much your business to know and control the effects in your workplace.

It is worth looking at the facts regarding alcohol consumption in this country.  According to the charity Alcohol Concern, 10 million people in England currently exceed the recommended alcohol consumption limits, and around 200,000 people in the UK go to work with a hangover every day!  It is quite likely, therefore, that somebody in your workforce may be overdoing it on a regular basis.

Consider firstly the possibility that an employee of yours – let’s call him Joe – is too hung over to report for work.  You will suffer financially from his absence (sick pay, lost production, maybe the cost of a temporary replacement) and his colleagues may have to work even harder to cover his work, putting them under strain.  If it’s a regular occurrence, resentment will build up, souring relationships within the team, and you will have to instigate disciplinary action.

If Joe does set off for work having overdone it the night before, he may still be over the legal limit when driving to the office, in which case he may be stopped by the police and end up losing his licence (which will give you a headache if driving is part of his job).  Even worse, he may have an accident en route, in which case the consequences for him and for other road users could be devastating. And if you have company vehicles or employ drivers in your business – including fork lift drivers – then it’s a possibility you cannot ignore.

If Joe makes it safely to the workplace but has a thumping headache, his performance is likely to be under par.  He may fail to clinch an important deal, or send out inaccurate information to a key customer, which could cost you money. Worse still, he may misuse a dangerous piece of machinery, and hurt himself or others. Accidents in the workplace can lead to all manner of unpleasant consequences, perhaps including personal injury claims from third parties; and under Health and Safety law you, the employer, will find yourself having to prove your innocence to avoid carrying the can.

Joe’s drinking may put a strain on his personal relationships, which in turn may show up in the workplace as stress.  His performance may go off the boil for no obvious reason, and he may be reluctant to confide in you.  Time-consuming performance management processes will ensue, distracting you both from more productive activities.

Or he may be lucky, and seemingly cope well for years despite his excessive drinking.  But sooner or later the strain on Joe’s body will start to tell.  The weight may pile on, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.  And he won’t be doing his liver any good.  Alcoholic liver disease has no early symptoms; by the time Joe starts feeling poorly, the damage may be irreparable.  He may need extensive time off work for medical treatment or a transplant – if it’s not too late – causing yet more problems for you.

So you see, alcohol consumption by employees is very much your business, and libertarian arguments just won’t wash.  You need a policy on alcohol, making it clear what is and is not acceptable at work.

If you work in a high risk sector such as transport, manufacturing or construction, you may have to take a “zero tolerance” approach, and engage in random testing to ensure your employees are absolutely sober in the workplace.  There are strict protocols to follow if you wish to test employees for alcohol.  Alternatively, in a low risk office environment, you may not need to go to such extremes, but you will still need to be alert to signs of intoxication in the workplace, and act on them.

Your Disciplinary Policy also needs to cover examples of misconduct and gross misconduct related to alcohol consumption.  And if needs be, you should be prepared to dismiss an employee who breaks your rules.

It’s easy to poke fun at somebody who seems “a bit the worse for wear”, or moans about having had “one too many” the night before.  But in the workplace, excessive alcohol consumption is no laughing matter.