Sixty-eight per cent of workers in the UK enjoy between one and five ‘liquid lunches’ every week, and most have more than two alcoholic drinks, according to employment law consultancy Peninsula.
The survey polled 1,342 employees from a range of industries in the UK. Only 7 per cent said they never drink at lunch time during the working week, while another 3 per cent said “it depends”.
Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, said: “The implications of having potentially drunk employees in the workplace will be a problem, with issues such as health and safety regulations.The fact that employees may be intoxicated is not an altogether ideal [workplace] environment.”
Peninsula says a company’s policies must be communicated to all employees to ensure that the rules are not broken when it comes to alcohol.
“If there are frequent problems, employers may be forced to review the situation,” says Done. “If there is a persistent offender, it would be wise to interview the employee to discuss why the ‘liquid lunch’ is a problem for the business.”
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