Nursery workers drinking at lunchtime.

[Brendathedoll]

Had a rare day off yesterday so went for a pub lunch with my sister. In there I saw 2 nursery nurses from my child’s daycare having lunch and they each had a glass of wine. There were also 2 empty glasses in the table but possibly from previous customers. I wasn’t happy but my sister says it’s there lunchtime they don’t get paid for and 2 glasses won’t make any difference. They saw me and looked a bit sheepish but it means I can’t report them anon now. I’m scared if I say something they would treat my child differently. Am I being ott thinkinb they shouldn’t drink while caring for kids?

As a childcare worker, I am currently drinking and mumsnetting at the same time. However I do not have care of any children until Sunday.

Over 30 years of working in childcare, I have never come across any childcare worker who would drink alcohol during a working day. After a shift, yeah. But half way through a shift, no. Maybe I am out of touch, or maybe you live in a rough place where drunk in charge of children is common, but I really doubt that they are drinking and then going back to work.

When I did nursery work, lunch break - what's that? 30 minutes in a tiny staff room if you were lucky. So a meal out, it's not likely they were working again afterwards.

I think you’d need to know if they were going back to work. If they had a half day they could have been doing shots and it would have been fine as it’s one their own time. If going back and caring for children and babies then no absolutely not okay to be drinking at lunch.

Would have been a disciplinary when I worked in a nursery and that was in the 90s when everything was much slacker.

How interesting that you know for a fact they get an hour lunch as my sister used to work there.

This was the same sister who was with you in the pub?

@Chatteringmagpie7 oh come on, if you turned up with your child and got a whiff of wine, you wouldn't ask how much they'd had, you just wouldn't hand your child over.

We still don't know they were working though.

If they were definitely going back to work that is not okay at all! What if there was an emergency and they had to perform first aid or something after a drink?

There's no way we have a long enough break at lunchtime to have a pub meal and 2 glasses of wine! They were meeting up for a chat on a day off I would have said. People quite often meet colleagues near work as it evens the travel/ is familiar. I'd be amazed if their lunch break is long enough for a pub lunch and I seriously doubt they'd be drinking during it. But if they were and you can prove it then yes, it's out of order.

Are you sure they were going back into work? One of my friends works in a large nursery and staff are on different shifts

Wow. What line of work are you in ?

I've worked since 1980, and have never had an hour's lunchbreak (except in jobs where there were flexihours).

However, in any of the Nurseries I've been in to over the las 8 years (approx 70), the staff only get a 30min break.

Not quite the same but I got on a bus once with my son in the pram. An older lady sat opposite and she tutted loudly and said "that's terrible that is " so I was looking out the window wondering what on earth had happened. Took me a minute and her saying "drinking like that with a baby" for me to clock- she thought the one litre green bottle of sparkling water from aldi was wine 🫣 I don't know who was more embarrassed 😂 I don't even drink! Cue me showing the whole bus that the label said sparkling water .. though most of the people who got off after found it funny and told me enjoy it 😅

The nineties is when most workplaces started bringing in no drinking alcohol during lunch breaks. And in most places it was a disciplinary offence.

It is incredibly unlikely these two women were on a lunch break and then going back to look after dc.
They could have been on a day off. They could have been on study leave. They might have been given time to do any sort of paperwork.
They could have been drinking alcohol free wine.

Um....did YOU miss the part where op said they don't WEAR a uniform as such just a "tabard thing" which is worn OVER their normal clothes and would take seconds to put on/off

Which tbh I would take off if going out at lunchtime even if just popping to the shop - they aren't the nicest looking things, probably get dirty throughout the day working with kids, are an extra layer when it's warm out and it's more hygienic to not wear them out.

I actually don't think they were working but you've only made yourself look stupid there - looks like you're the one that can't read or at least struggles with reading comprehension....

Check with the nursery management to see if they were working? Unless one of the staff was management of course...

It's unacceptable in my view. As other posters have said you really feel the effects of even one glass going back to work. Used to do this in the 1980s as a civil servant on a Friday quite frequently, though it was an office job, nothing responsible like looking after children.

I would gently raise this with the nursery manager. I don’t think it’s ok, especially if it was two glasses. I would go in with a “probably i misunderstood” rather than a “reporting them” or “confronting them” attitude, if you see what I mean. Honestly, if you don’t feel able to have a polite and reasonable conversation with the nursery manager then you need to move your child to somewhere better.

@Brendathedoll How do you know it was wine? Not being funny, but it could have been something non-alcoholic - or even some kind of fizzy water?

Maybe there were off? I do a half day once a week and sometimes go straight out for a lunch/drink with a colleague or friend. We are allowed lives outside of looking after your children lol.

Do you even have confirmation it was alcohol or non-alcoholic?

And if not I’ve just checked my contract and there’s nothing that would even pertain to this.

Knowing my manager if one of us had a drink on our break and a parent complained. She would shut it down swiftly and sharply. She’d probably tell us to stick to one and take our uniform off next time. Thats it really.

She doesn't even know if they have been working at all.

As a previous nursery worker, I would've been fired for that.

I don’t think you have enough information to go off. They could have been on a day off or a half day so if you’re not even sure they were working reporting them is a bit off.

If they were working I don’t think they should have been drinking though. I’m not sure why some posters think as it’s an unpaid lunch break it’s fine to drink alcohol then go back to your job looking after children. That’s outrageous. Do they even get a long enough break to have a leisurely meal in a pub though? That would make me think they were off work.

if they were on duty... then i'd say that was a big no no, but if they were on a day off or half day?

But how do you know they we’re working that day? I’d be keen to find out first if they were working. Also could have been alcohol free wine?

Another thing to consider is the school holidays. A couple of nurseries I know have a smaller amount of children in during the 6 weeks and some members of staff do not work the summer.

Most schools are finishing this week, maybe they finished yesterday morning and went for a little end of term lunch together.

I'd say one glass with a meal at lunch is fine. Not 2 glasses, that would be a bit much and I wouldn't be happy to have my kids in their care. I've had a glass at lunch when mine were smaller, on holiday etc, and I was still capable of looking after them. Can you really police what people do in their unpaid lunch breaks as long as they are capable of doing their job afterwards?

we had a school around the corner from my restaurant in Canada. I believe that they got an hour but had to be back in the classroom dead on the hour as the bell would ring and the kids back in from lunch break. We often got several teachers in at lunch. They would text me and preorder the lunch and ask me to have the table ready with food on it for 12:15 , They never ordered alcohol. Usually just waters or a soft drink. On occasion I would get a text saying, please help us save lives today. (code for...big fresh pot of coffee please, kids are doing our heads in) My guess is that they were on a half day or off for the day. Our group of teachers even went as far with pre ordering that they had their bills sitting on the table before they even sat down. They were that pressed for time! Two glasses of wine each? nope. Not unless they guzzled them! Put this down to "not your business"