Member Article

Watch for problem drinking among staff

Conversations about absence or poor performance are never pleasant to initiate Add in an additional awkwardness - say a staff member who is drinking too much - and many managers will feel way out of their depth. Yet problem drinking is something that employers cannot afford to ignore.

According to government figures some 17 million working days a year are lost to alcohol-related sickness and this is likely to get worse with the pressures of recession. In the last survey, calls on debt were up by 130 per cent compared to previous figures. There’s a direct relationship between debt and mental health problems and people with depression or anxiety are likely to drink more.

Despite these alarming figures - and a change in culture over the last two decades that has made lunch-time drinking less common - many companies still do not have alcohol policies. Employers are not good at having conversations around absence. Health and lifestyle, in particular, are viewed as sensitive issues.

As well as putting in place formal alcohol policies, company’s need to play a more active role by encouraging sensible drinking by staff generally as part of a focus on health and wellbeing.

Company’s should be talking to their work-force earlier and informing staff of the physical and mental effects of alcohol and illegal drugs. Yet alcohol remains a sensitive subject in companies.

Safety-critical industries such as railways or airlines are explicit about alcohol consumption during or before working hours. Move outside this group, however, and even if companies have an alcohol policy, it may be little used. Some companies do have a policy but whether it’s effective, monitored and evaluated is an entirely different matter.

Companies that do introduce or revisit an alcohol policy could do so as a wider range of initiatives on health and safety or staff wellbeing. An additional consideration in the hospitality industries is that temptation is on the doorstep.

Suggested further action

If a member of staff requested help from the company prior to the management being aware of poor performance then in accordance with the disciplinary or capability procedure, any information regarding a staff member’s problems with alcohol or drugs should be treated as confidential, subject to the company’s legal obligations.

Help

The company should offer practical support to those experiencing problems. The company may be able to refer employees to an appropriate advisory service, for examination. The company should encourage staff to seek specialist help if they feel that they have an alcohol or drug problem.

Information

The company should also be committed to providing information to staff about the effects of alcohol and/or drugs, on health and safety.

Disciplinary action

Drug and alcohol misuse may become a matter for disciplinary action in accordance with the company’s discplinary or capability procedure, subject to the letter and spirit of any alcohol or drugs policy, particlarly where help is refused and/or impaired performance continues. Staff also need to know that dismissal may result from disciplinary action.

Alcohol and drugs policy and the company’s duty of care

It is highly recommended that companies should have in their Staff Handbooks a clear policy on alcohol and drugs. This should be effective, easily accessible and clearly understood by all staff, and regularly monitored and evaluated by the company management.

If you wish to introduce an alcohol and drugs policy into your organisation or, have an alcohol related problem with anyone in your company. Please contact me, in strictest confidence.

I can introduce well written alcohol and drugs policies and have extensive recent experience in dealing with sensitive situations.

If you have any observations about the content of this article, then I would greatly appreciate your comments below:-

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Dane .