Posted By brian mills hi guys, there is a person where i advise at, who has let to company know that he has a problem with alcohol for the last few years. the firm gave the employee counselling which he never followed through, he has now let it be known that the employer knows of his problem, the employee is a model employee, never late don't take time off etc, your advice to which how to deal with this matter will be highly appreciated. regards JJ

Posted By brian mills many thanks philip! but i was thinking more under the lines of that we have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees. If you knowingly allow an employee under the influence of excess alcohol to continue working and this places the employee or others at risk, you could be prosecuted. Similarly, your employees are also required to take reasonable care of themselves and others who could be affected by what they do. we are because this is a chemical dependancy and that we work shiftwork cosidering the effects of the night before or drinking before the shift commences! indeed current thinking is that 'The Government's guidance on sensible drinking, published in December 1995, lists the following as examples of specific situations when the best advice is not to drink at all: before or during driving; before using machinery, electrical equipment or ladders; before working or in the workplace when appropriate functioning would be adversely affected by alcohol. so i think i should be considering that if anybody is drinking heavily regularly, outside working hours; or getting drunk outside working hours, and is informing the employer we have duties to that person, we must consider that ·Employees with a drink problem have the same rights to confidentiality and support as they would if they had any other medical or psychological condition. Disciplinary action should be a last resort. A court may find a dismissal unfair if an employer has made no attempt to help an employee whose work problems are related to drinking alcohol. The cost of recruiting and training a replacement may be greater than the cost of cost of allowing someone time off to obtain expert help. Many people with an alcohol problem are able in time to regain full control over their drinking and return to their previous work performance. It may be very difficult for people to admit to themselves or others that their drinking is out of control. They need to know that you will treat their drinking problem as a health problem rather than an immediate cause for dismissal or disciplinary action. If employees' drinking is a matter of concern, they should be encouraged to seek help from their GP or a specialist alcohol agency. Their is also concerns about the loss of productivity and poor performance; lateness and absenteeism; safety concerns; effect on team morale and employee relations; bad behaviour or poor discipline; adverse effects on company image and customer relations. this has made me realiase that we need an agreed policy on alcohol, and may have to consider carefully where we allow this individual to work until he is cured of his adiction! regards Brian

Posted By Francis MSc MIOSH RSP Brian, Basically why do you think that the person may be a danger to themselves or others- 1)WHAT DO THEY DO (JOB WISE)? 2)Have you ANY real evidence to suggest that they have /are going to put themselves/ others at risk? 3)Have they seen a medical practitioner or have you had any professional medical advice as to what this person should or should not do?