Alcohol at work

[Qcarchoo]

I run a building company and a couple of my employees have started visiting the pub at lunchtime.
Apart from the implications of site safety, it doesn't look very professional when the customer can smell alcohol on their breath.

They assure me that it's only one pint and what they do in their own lunch break is their concern.
It's not affecting their ability to work as far as I'm aware but I am not happy.

Can I enforce an alcohol free policy i.e. does their lunch break count as work time?
I suppose that effectively they have alcohol in their system during working hours so I should be able to.

Any advice would be welcome.
Cheers.

[Pothole]

Qcarchoo said:

I run a building company and a couple of my employees have started visiting the pub at lunchtime.
Apart from the implications of site safety, it doesn't look very professional when the customer can smell alcohol on their breath.

They assure me that it's only one pint and what they do in their own lunch break is their concern.
It's not affecting their ability to work as far as I'm aware but I am not happy.

Can I enforce an alcohol free policy i.e. does their lunch break count as work time?
I suppose that effectively they have alcohol in their system during working hours so I should be able to.

Any advice would be welcome.
Cheers.

Safety concern I tend to agree with, except if it is just one pint, they'd have to be 12 for it to affect them to any great extent if they're having a pub lunch as well.

Why does it 'look unprofessional' to customers? How do you know what customers think? As a potential customer I'm not interested in what a builder smells like, I'm interested in results. You say it does not affect their work, so there is no issue except the one you are imagining.

Regarding them having alcohol in their systems whilst at work, most people do after the weekend. Are you going to try and enforce a rule like train drivers have to follow?

Whatever you implement, how are you going to test it? How are you going to enforce it? Are you prepared to sack some of your best staff over something which is not really an issue?

[Glocko Shirts]

Pothole is the landlord of the pub your workies go to!! AICMFP

Alcohol free while in work which obviously includes lunch, after all they wouldn't turn up for the morning shift after a pint, same goes for afternoon shift!

[GuinnessMK]

We have a section in our site rules covering alcohol.

Basically it states no alcohol to be consumed during the working day and don't turn up hungover, i.e under the influence.

It clearly states that as we don't have the means to test, the site manager's decision is final.

We don't fire, but send the lads home with no pay.

Unfortunately the only people I've ever had to sack on the spot were drunk site managers...

[Pothole]

Glocko Shirts said:

Pothole is the landlord of the pub your workies go to!! AICMFP

Alcohol free while in work which obviously includes lunch, after all they wouldn't turn up for the morning shift after a pint, same goes for afternoon shift!

No, sadly. At work, FFS! In work means you have a job.

[Qcarchoo]

I'm sure some customers would not be worried about builders smelling of alcohol.
Some would however, and they may jump to conclusions on the amount of alcohol consumed.
I can see that, maybe a pint on a Friday would be Ok but this is becoming a daily occurrence.

Much of our work involves working at close quarters with the client whilst they are living in the property and yes, I may be being picky, but the business has been built and sold on reputation.

[Pothole]

Qcarchoo said:

I'm sure some customers would not be worried about builders smelling of alcohol.
Some would however, and they may jump to conclusions on the amount of alcohol consumed.
I can see that, maybe a pint on a Friday would be Ok but this is becoming a daily occurrence.

Much of our work involves working at close quarters with the client whilst they are living in the property and yes, I may be being picky, but the business has been built and sold on reputation.

So you've made a decision and want a forum of randoms whose history and reputations you have no knowledge of to back you up? OK.

[Qcarchoo]

Yes, I've made a decision.
I want some advice on whether I can implement the rule legally.

[Pothole]

Good luck.

[Mojooo]

I am sure businesses up and down the country have rules preventing people from drinking at work

AFAIK it would be frowned upon big time where I work but the difficulty is showign it having an affect o nthe employees output.

That said if it looks unprofessional that should be more than enough.

[condor]

As a regular lunch time drinker - I have to say I don't see a problem. If they're having a pub lunch then a pint with it would be normal.

[davepoth]

Last place I worked at actually had a Blood Alcohol Level stated in the terms of employment. If anyone was suspected of being pissed on the job they would get someone to come in and test them.

I would say it's completely fine to tell them not to drink. So long as you warn them before you implement it, I don't think anyone would see it as unreasonable (apart from them of course).

[condor]

Presumably that they'd drive to the pub and back - so if and more than likely they're under the drink/drive limit then that would be fine.
From the OP's posts they've said that they eat lunch and have a pint. They've been honest with him - so if it's that big a problem for him - he could suggest they have 1/2 a pint instead.

[craigjm]

You can legally have a no alcohol policy the problem is enforcing it.

[Magic919]

I'd assume they have more than one pint on occasion. Quick Google found this http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg240.htm

[flyingjase]

Qcarchoo said:

Yes, I've made a decision.
I want some advice on whether I can implement the rule legally.

The short answer is yes you can implement it. I have a no alcohol policy with all of my staff, which is stipulated in the employment contract. I would suggest that you need to draw their attention to this in their contract (if it's in there) or change their contract to reflect it (although the latter is slighty more difficult)

I know nothing of the building trade, but surely there are clear health and safety guidelines / laws / rules you can use? This might be the easiest and less confrontational way to enforce no alcohol - you can sight the fact that as a business owner you have to enforce these rules or else it puts the whole company and hence their employment at risk.

This is not alarmast either. If there was an accident and they had been drinking, then you could be open to being sued in the litigious world we live in today. Whether it was just one pint or not doesn't really matter, a decent lawyer would twist it so you sounded negligent by letting them do it.

I have the complete opposite views of Pothole above. If I was having work done on the house (and I recently have done) I would not want the workman going to the pub and drinking booze at lunchtime, in my view it is very unprofessional - quite simply there's no need for it and having alcohol in your system can effect work rate in the afternoon.

I love beer, in fact I probably love it a bit too much, but I would not drink at lunhchtime if I had to go back to work.

[condor]

If they're good workers I'd suggest you accept their word that they only have a pint with their pub lunch. From your comments it's a building site - how many customers are they expected to see?
I think you're being unreasonable - my background is/was 16 years in the off licence trade and we were encouraged to have a few drinks in the local pubs to promote the community spirit.

[Use Psychology]

i work in a completely different but also hazardous environment and everywhere i've ever been stipulates no drinking at lunchtime. (or if you do, no returning to the lab, not an option for builders though really).

[bobmcgod]

Who drinks then goes to work? I've never worked anywhere that found this remotely acceptable.

[aizvara]

bobmcgod said:

Who drinks then goes to work? I've never worked anywhere that found this remotely acceptable.

I've worked for two companies so far. In both cases, a lunch and pint is a fairly regular occurrence. I remember one occasion going out with group from a (very, very important) customer and we all had a pint, and even discussed the different attitude to alcohol at lunch elsewhere in the world.

Personally, I'd not make a habit of it as I tend to feel more tired in the afternoon. Then again, the big lunch that always accompanies the pint may well be to blame for that.