Work party disaster who was at fault

[Heredakh]

A company is reaching an important milestone in its history and planning an event. Small company of about 50 people.

Event is dinner then entertainment and drinks/ dancing at a hired venue. Ahead of the event, colleagues are told what to expect, that some clients will be there too and to therefore enjoy but behave accordingly etc (it was implied not to get blind drunk but not explicitly said)

Colleague A is relatively new to the business and still in probation but doing good job. They are told about the event like everyone else.

On the night the free booze is flowing like it often is at these kind of events and it becomes apparent colleague A is enjoying the booze a lot but as this is their first time drinking in front of other colleagues, people aren't aware when to step in or that it could lead to big issues (some people can drink loads with no issue, some can't etc) plus everyone else is drinking too, although a bit more moderately.

As night wears on (when some people had already headed home) colleague A reveals themselves as quite a rude and obnoxious drunk, they offend a long standing client, an older colleague then vomit on senior leaders shoes.

Not sure how it played out beyond that but a few days later back at work there's an email that colleague A is no longer in the business.

I've been shocked by the whole thing and wondering who was more at fault? Should colleague A have curbed the drinking on the night or should company not have had so much free alcohol on offer? Its a recipe for disaster if you don't know when to stop drinking but equally moderate drinkers are entitled to some free drinks to enjoy themselves surely?

YABU - the company's free booze is to blame, its a recipe for disaster that they should have seen coming

YANBU - colleague A should have acted accordingly and known when to stop at a work event

It does sound like something out of a comedy sketch, 🤣

Was par for the course when I worked in the Civil Service twenty odd years ago. One of our very senior legal staff was very sick and had to be poured onto put on a train by much more junior office staff and someone had to ring his wife to get her to go meet it at the station, in case he fell asleep or under it, possibly. And no-one thought a fucking thing of it. Your company sounds very harsh.

have been on both sides of this - got very drunk once in my twenties and wasn't sacked but it was mentioned later and I felt bad and didn't do it again.

Have also been at work related professional events and stayed sober. In doing that you see everything - not just really bad behaviour but people being sloppy/loud and having done that I now never drink at work events, because I know how it looks through sober eyes!

Ultimately, colleague A is at fault. However, I think when a company provides free booze, they should really also provide food. It doesn't have to be a sit-down meal, but enough so that people can line their stomachs (share platters or regular canapes, for example). Yes, people should be managing their own drinking, but a free-flowing bar on empty stomachs is a recipe for disaster and one the company should be trying to avoid.

Maybe this is A

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LNNkYRXzmvs&pp=ygUebWFnZ2llIHZvbWl0aW5nIGxpdHRsZSBicml0YWlu

You can do what you like at a work do, but not when there are clients present and you have been warned in advance and asked to behave accordingly.

They had already provided dinner - what more do you think they should have done?

Event is dinner then entertainment and drinks/ dancing at a hired venue.

It’s common sense surely. Work + drinks +clients = a polite couple. If you can’t control your drinking once you start ( me as a youngster) then abstain.

At worst people will think you are boring.

I think it’s much easier to mollify offended client by sacking A.

Yeah, this was practically my job description (I loved my job!) And it kind of makes the point that you CAN choose to be affable and reasonably polite - at least not downright rude - when pissed. We had our fair share of stroppy bastards, and they still managed not to lose us any business while drinking.

Somebody should have steered the kid out of the room when s/he started to get lairy, but the fault is their own.

I missed that bit, so nothing more in this case, and like I said, colleague A is at fault.

Of course the colleague is responsible for not getting shitfaced. Although I would also say I wouldn’t really want to work for a company where the culture involved boozy corporate drinkinb with colleagues and clients if there was pressure to attend and if it was a regular occurrence.. sounds a bit 90s/00s and if that was a highlight for the team I was in I probably wouldn’t be a good fit.

they offend a long standing client, an older colleague then vomit on senior leaders shoes.

Blowing chunks on the shoes is bad enough.

Offending a long standing client was more than likely the final nail in their coffin.

With them still on probation, kicking them out is a simple task.

I am not responsible for this murder, you shouldn't have sharp knives for sale in IKEA.

It was colleague A's fault and he reaped the consequences.
Expensive lesson; he was warned.

It would have been prudent for an older, more experienced co-worker (who knew of the previous drunk episode) to have ordered the young one a taxi, suggested fewer drinks, etc before a long standing client was offended.

Providing limited alcoholic drinks alongside creative mocktails and soft drinks is the better plan for employers these days. They want employees who attend work parties to arrive home safe, remain professional and to not flare up health issues (like alcoholism).

Effectively this kind of thing is an extension of work (it's one of the reasons why I loathe this nonsensical forced jollity so much). And you are therefore subject to the same rules as if you were at work and, whether you realise it or not, under scrutiny.

Would you be sacked if you were drunk at work? In most industries the answer is yes. (Unless you're in politics and even then it seems the Tories get off Scot free while all other parties are vilified.)

It is a very harsh lesson for the young staff member concerned, one of the things I lament in the workplace is that we seem to have lost the art of mentoring new staff. Now they're just thrown in at the deep end and somehow expected to know the rules.

As more and more kids who came of age during COVID join the workforce it'll become more apparent. Many already seem to be incredibly young for their age.

Pissed colleagues-especially ones that vomit everywhere and are obnoxious are disgusting unless they are 18 and don't know their limits.

I have a colleague that got too drunk on a night out, then got our managing director barred from Uber because he got into an altercation with the driver in the taxi MD had booked for him... I couldn't cope with the embarrassment! Drunk colleague didn't get fired though. I think as a one-off incident it's a bit harsh to jump straight to firing, but maybe there were other things going on. Or maybe colleague refused to apologise?

Back in the 80s you’d have been sacked for not getting up to these antics😁

How could it possibly be the fault of anyone other than the idiot who got so drunk they vomited in public? Companies are not nannies.

Of course its colleague As fault.

Personal responsibility.

I have a supermarket full of food down the road. Should I blame Aldi for the fact I'm overweight because they have the food available so close by?

It's absolutely ridiculous to blame anyone other then the person who chose to drink too much.

Ppl become obnoxious when drunk because they're drunk, and lose all reasoning. Your drunken self doesn't represent who you really are. Poor guy. actually your drunken self typically does represent who you really are it’s just that you can be more controlled when sober as drink makes you lose your inhibitions.

So if someone is violent when drunk then they’re violent. It’s just that they choose not to be when sober.

If you are going to provide free booze - expect people to get shitfaced. Look after them and then don’t mention it again. Don’t sack them.
I’ve been in situations where some feeders ply others. Very easy for people to go over limits especially if not hardened and seasoned drinkers.

Two drinks max at work events. Always.

Colleague a knew what was expected. You can’t restrict for everyone else, as someone can’t control their drinking. That’s their issue.they clearly made a show of themselves, offended a client, and then vomited publicly. They were fired due to their own behaviour.

They offended a client, as well as a colleague, were rude and obnoxious. It’s dismissible offence when you offend a client.bringing the company onto disrespute. The person knew there were customers there,they still got on it.