What do you do if you smell alcohol on a worker?

What do you do if you smell alcohol on a worker?
Besides the smell being potentially unpleasant, there are What do you do if you smell alcohol on a workerworrying statistics that show how common the problem actually is. A recent survey has found that 85 % of 2,600 people surveyed have been drunk in the workplace in the last year. 31% of them admitted to being drunk at work, or being unable to work as well due to alcohol, at least once a week. These figures also showed that employees working in public facing jobs were more likely to stay sober.

The Statistics are quite Frightening

There are 31,767,000 workers in the UK. Based on that 31% sample. This means that 9.8 million of the British workforce in any one week is drunk at work or has impaired capacity to work. That’s a massive 1 in 4 British businesses that have, on average, at least one worker per week at work who is drunk. Or incapable of carrying out their job properly because of alcohol.
According to the institute of Alcohol Studies, office professionals are far more likely to drink alcohol during the working week. They are also prone to drinking at work and it is estimated that £7.3 billion is lost each year in business productivity due to alcohol related issues in the workplace. And 17 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol related sickness! And a staggering 200,000 workers turn up to work hungover on any given working day.

So, what do you do if you smell alcohol on a worker?

This might be a delicate situation which could affect the service you are providing. You need to approach with discretion directly with the individual. Always remember that a member of staff may smell of alcohol, but it doesn’t mean they have been drinking at work or are under the influence of alcohol. The smell could be from the night before. There have been instances where employees have had a certain prescription with side effects which smell very much like alcohol!

As an employer you need to be checking that:

  • You have a policy relating to alcohol in the workplace. It is important to safeguard yourself, your employees and your clients/customers.
  • Ensure that this policy is communicated to all staff and explains how you, as the employer, expect your employees to operate. If you plan to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards alcohol, then make it clear. For example, if you do not expect employees to have a drink at lunchtime, state this in your policy.
  • If an employee attends work smelling of alcohol, talk to them in private and try to establish the reason why. If the employee discloses that they are, or think that they are, an alcoholic try to persuade them to speak to their GP or suggest they seek specialist help from an organisation such as Rehab4Addiction
  • Address any concerns about an individual’s ability to work immediately. It is entirely appropriate to send someone home who you believe incapable of working safely. You would then speak to the employee the next day to establish the facts surrounding the matter.
  • If the employee’s behaviour does not improve, disciplinary action, including dismissal, may be appropriate.

What do you do if you smell alcohol on a worker?

Address the problem, don’t think it will go away. It may be a one off, but statistics would suggest that it may not be!
If you want to know what you do if you smell alcohol on a worker, give us a call and talk through your options – 01706  565332 or email us 
Metis HR is a professional HR Consultancy based in the North West of England supporting clients across the country. We specialise in providing outsourced HR services to small and medium-sized businesses. Call us now on 01706 565332 or email us to discuss how we may help you.
 
 

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