Alcohol testing at work

I remember the Witch Queen (Personnel Director for a major civils company) having and un-fair dismissal case go to court.... The Project manager had been sacked cos he had been flogging coke round the building sites he was managing and using his company car to do it....

.. His argument was there was nothing in his contract that said he couldn't !

.... Once he was sent down for 5 years it all became academic !!

Mr Puffy - My husband works in a factory that operates machinery including fork lift trucks.  He's the company First Aider and Safety Officer.   I asked him last night what he thought and he said that he's heard it mentioned at his place that it could be introduced there at some point in the future.    He thinks it's a good idea for 2 reasons....... 1)  he knows some of the youngsters are pubbing it at lunch times, but the company can't prove anything....... and 2) about 20 years ago, at a previous company he worked for, there was a fatality and a serious injury as a result of someone operating a fork lift truck without a licence.  The guy responsible ended up having a nervous breakdown!

Those are my husbands views, but then he does work in a dangerous environment where there are enough accidents etc because of the type of work they have to do and the machinery they use.  

Well i'm self employed so i wont be using that tactic...... hic

Wobbled wrote (see)

Apparently a few companies have started using alcohol/drug tests as an excuse to sack people during the downturn. It's easier and cheaper than redundancy.

Hmmmm... my workplace has both forklift trucks and free beer at lunch time.

(Only a pint though, and served in halves to make it more effort to get the full pint.)

There has been a notice put up on our factory's notice board stating that they have introduced random alcohol and drug testing.

Some clever wag asked if they would get some beer for free if they tested negative.

Well there's always one.........

A thought for you.

Construction has the highest death rate of any industry, despite the now mountainous documentation/planning/risk assessment/method statement culture that is needed (apparently). Individual companies have brought in testing, but at the limits for driving on the roads.

The rail industry and aviation have zero tolerance, AND have lower limits. Fearfully low. The penalties for failing tests are set by the individual companies in their policies, but are usually instant dismissal for gross negligence. They also have random D&A testing that is conducted by third party organisations, and these are regular and frequent.

For the warehouse manager, I would suggest that if they did a proper risk assessment it would be a no brainer. D&A testing would be introduced on Elfin Safety grounds. However the Senior Decision Making Management are the ones that are most likely to have their work capability affected by alcohol, so they should be included from a business efficiency viewpoint. Imagine the ramifications from bidding too low on a multi million contract due to inebriated desperation/ fatigue.

seren nos - dyn haearn wrote (see)

Wobbled wrote (see)

Apparently a few companies have started using alcohol/drug tests as an excuse to sack people during the downturn. It's easier and cheaper than redundancy.

got no sympathy if people are turning up to work under the influence...........its irresponsible...

Doesn't it depend on the job ?    If it affects safety then no arguments - if you are falling below an acceptable standard because of it then yes after a warning fair enough - but if you are still doing a good job why should it matter if you go to the pub one lunchtime and have a pint ?    It's not something I would want to do but I've worked places where people did.     Not all jobs are 9-5 for a start - so even if you do get a bit less done that afternoon you might work late the next evening - don't see a problem with that.