Stallard Kane News

Saturday, 09 October 2010 10:05

DISMISSAL - OCTOBER 2010

Alcohol and training courses An employee who likes to regularly overindulge in alcohol can be a problem at the best of times. But suppose it results in them being kicked off an external training course that they must attend. Can this be grounds for dismissal?

Dismissing the problem

Around 75% of heavy drinkers, i.e. those that rely on alcohol, are in full-time employment – this roughly equates to one in every six workers. The problem often goes unnoticed. But where would you stand if it led to one of your employees being thrown off an external training course, perhaps where they were studying for a qualification or a new skill? Could you dismiss them for this, and if so, how would you go about it?

Is it bad enough?

Initially, you might think that this behaviour isn’t serious enough to amount to gross misconduct. After all, it’s only a training course; nobody got hurt and they probably embarrassed themselves enough not to do it again.

Dangerous ground. But let’s suppose that it was safety-related, e.g. a driving or manual handling course. Failing to complete it is likely to put this employee and others at risk – meaning you could be landed with a claim for personal injury. This puts a different slant on the matter.

Right to act

The good news is that you have considerable leeway in deciding what counts as gross misconduct. So providing you’ve laid the groundwork, you can dismiss in this situation.

Alcohol at work policy

You will firstly need a robust alcohol at work policy in place. It should be divided into four main areas:

1. Who it applies to – is it all employees, or only those working in safety-critical roles?

2. It aims, e.g. to provide a safe workplace.

3. The disciplinary sanctions that will apply for breach of the policy, e.g. dismissal on the grounds of gross  misconduct.

4. A statement outlining the support you’ll provide to an employee who discloses that they’re drunk.

Policy Wording

Be careful with the wording of your policy. Unless you have proper testing equipment and the employee’s consent to use it (which is unlikely), you won’t be able to prove that they’re drunk.

Keep it wide. Draft your policy so that disciplinary sanctions can be triggered if an employee appears to be under the influence of alcohol. It will then be much easier to apply.

Tip 1. Cover all bases and include attendance at training courses, irrespective of whether they are in-house or organised externally.

Tip 2. Given that dismissal is a possible sanction, ensure that all employees are aware of your policy on alcohol and in particular what will trigger it, e.g. strong smell of alcohol on the breath.

Not a disability

Finally, alcohol dependency itself isn’t a protected disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. So if an employee tries to argue that it is, they’re on dodgy ground.

Source and Ref: © 2010 Indicator Limited