One in six Britons 'under the influence' at work

One in six employees in Britain has been under the influence of alcohol at work in the last six months, a study into ‘Alcohol in the workplace’ by Royal & SunAlliance has revealed.

Nearly 60,000 employers also attribute the effects of alcohol the next day, on up to ten per cent of absenteeism, and 54,000 blame up to ten per cent of workplace under-performance on alcohol.

The R&SA study was commissioned to examine the effects of the 24-hour drinking legislation on alcohol in the workplace after six months of the new licensing laws. The research showed that two million working Britons took one or more days off sick due to alcohol-induced illness over the last six months. Whilst both employers and employees did not think the problem has got worse since the introduction of 24-hour drinking in November, there is an ongoing cultural problem in Britain of people drinking alcohol during the working day.

The younger age groups are the worst culprits, with 12 per cent of under 30 year olds pulling a ‘sickie’ due to excess alcohol. According to the Health & Safety Executive between 8 to 14 million working days in the UK are lost due to alcohol-related absenteeism.

Phil Bell, technical manager – liability at Royal & SunAlliance, comments: ”Our study reveals that there is an ongoing problem with alcohol in the workplace, even though the 24-hour drinking legislation has not increased this further. Employers can be held liable for accidents in the workplace and research shows that 20 – 25 per cent of these are caused by alcohol.

“Employers need to put risk controls and policies in place to ensure that they are providing a safe working environment for their employees, particularly with the World Cup approaching. Encouragingly, 91 per cent of the companies we surveyed did have an alcohol policy, but this still leaves 14,000 employers at risk.”

North – South Divide
There is a real North - South divide in drinking during working hours, which contradicts some established stereotypes. London (26 per cent), Eastern England (26 per cent) and the South West (24 per cent) have the most employees admitting to drinking during the working day, whereas those working in the northern regions (both North East and North West) drink the least.

World Cup Headache
The World Cup will cause even more of a headache for employers as football fans head to the pubs and bars to watch the World Cup games. The R&SA study reveals that one in ten (2.9 million) working Britons will leave work early to watch the football and five per cent (1.4 million) will go to the pub to watch the games and then return to work. Two per cent of employees called in sick during the last World Cup due to a hangover after watching the games, and the expected increase in absenteeism in June and July could have a serious effect on the nation’s businesses.

To combat this, 20 per cent of companies are planning to show the England World Cup matches in the workplace, with 12 per cent arranging to show all of the games in the tournament. A small number of employers (four per cent) will even give staff the day off if England win the cup.

Phil Bell concluded, “The effects of alcohol can be extensive, from an increased number of accidents in the workplace or lateness due to hangovers, through to impaired decision making, and a poor image for customers or clients. This can have an impact on everyone, especially sober colleagues who end up carrying the strain.”

Royal & SunAlliance has provided the following tips for companies to tackle alcohol in the workplace, during the World Cup:

• If possible, show the popular World Cup games in the workplace to avoid staff disappearing to the pub.
• Managers should identify those employees that are football fans and talk to them about their plans – perhaps arrange for them to leave early if they make up the hours on another day.
• Introduce an alcohol policy: this should include why the policy exists and who it applies to, who is responsible for carrying out the policy, the rules, details of disciplinary actions that will be taken and help that is available to employees.
• Consultation is vital – any changes in company rules are made easier if staff feel they have been consulted beforehand.
• Develop suitable training for managers and supervisors to help gain managers’ and employees’ support for the policy.
• Companies should closely monitor whether there is a problem by looking at records on sickness absence, productivity, accident records and disciplinary procedures.