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?

I did actually say that it is unprofessional if you are at work.
If they weren't then that's fine.

I would report it. Yes , you don’t know if they were working and if they weren’t then all good . But if they were , they shouldn’t be drinking in the middle of a shift . I wound definitely report it if it were my child’s nursery . I know myself, even one glass can make you feel a bit tipsy and I don’t think you should be in charge of other peoples children .

More of them should. Fuck if I would stand for such scrutiny and judging without anything to base it on.

@betterangels it is common from a certain kind of parent who will complain to a nursery manager about you based on misunderstood words by a toddler.

Are you seriously suggesting it’s fine to drink alcohol at work? How would you feel if your doctor or pilot had? They are looking after children. Being tired isn’t a choice as long as you are reasonably sensible.

@FredericC and how do propose the nursery 'check it'?

Manager to staff 'did you have wine with your lunch today'?
Staff to manager 'no'
OR
Manager to staff 'did you go to the pub on your day off'?
Staff to manager 'it's none of your business'

🤷🏼‍♀️

GP's had one glass of wine with lunch? Not my business.
Surgeon about to operate on me is drunk? That's different.

Pilots, like drivers, cannot drink.

Me an office worker having a good bye drink for a colleague at work? None of anybody's business.

But it's different with your own children?

Ask the Nursery Manager what their policy is regarding staff drinking alcohol in their lunch hour. If they confirm this shouldn't happen you can choose either to report or ask that all staff are reminded of the policy.

This is the kind of thing where I would have had no issue in picking up the phone to the nursery manager at our nursery and asking for an off the record (in the first instance) chat. All that has to be said is that you saw two staff members drinking on x date at lunchtime and while there's very possibly an innocent explanation (ie they were on a half day or non working day) it stuck out to you as something that deserved a quick chat to es ire there isn't a safeguarding concern. For all you know there are already issues with these two staff members and by saying nothing then the management can do nothing to improve matters.
I trusted my DC's nursery and they trusted me. The children's care was a dialogue and a partnership between parents and carers, and I wasn't ever scared to speak frankly. (Who knows, maybe they thought I was a nightmare!!)
What jumps out at me here is that you're afraid to raise it and afraid of consequences- that doesn't strike me as a great relationship engendered in mutual trust.
New nursery time?

I disagree. But I’m a professional and wouldn’t dream of compromising my work by drinking any amount of alcohol. I’m pretty shocked that people think it’s ok. If you are an office worker and don’t need to make quick and complex decisions upon which lives are at stake then fine. I want my nursery workers to be able to deal with emergencies. I want my GP to have full access to their brain power so they don’t make a poor decision that could cost me my life.

Alcohol during during the working day would not be allowed when engaging with and caring for children of any age. However, it might not have been wine at all. Its hard to imagine nursery staff being so careless about their work policies. As for looking "sheepish ", they probably were trying to avoid a work-related conversation with a parent during lunchtime (if they were at work, that is ). A lot of speculation and uncertainty here.

These days it’s not appropriate. In the past I’m sure it happened more regularly! When I worked for a big bank in the 90s , 2 hour lunches at the pub were common .
It could’ve been an alcohol free version.

But the OP doesn't know either of the following

A) If they were on their lunch hour
B) If it was wine (ie alcohol) they were drinking

Have you ever drunk alcohol free still wine? I promise you it's not worth paying pub prices for. In fact I'd probably pay good money to avoid drinking it.

If they'd had glasses/bottles of beer or fizzy wine in their hands I'd be happy to nod along with the "perhaps it was alcohol-free" argument, because that stuff is drinkable. And obviously tonic water is both drinkable and indistinguishable from a G&T.

I'm very unconvinced by the "perhaps it was tonic water/lemon squash" argument. Nothing looks like still white or red wine except alcohol-free wine, which is horrible.

Indeed and yet somehow some have already decided these two women are guilty and need reporting despite no actual evidence.

Why would they get slagged off? The concern is that these people are working under the influence, not that they are drinking on holiday.

If they were reported on the off chance then the nursery manager would be able to check in a minute whether they'd been on their lunch break or innocently starting their afternoon off with a well-earned glass or two of wine, and no harm would be done.

Mind you if the staff could get away with getting back from lunch with alcohol on their breath without managers or indeed parents at pick up spotting them then the nursery has far bigger problems. I can't imagine being able to get away with that.

Totally agree

This is exactly how rumours start you know absolutely nothing about the situation people often go for a drink after work or meet colleagues on day of.

Do you seriously think the nursery manager would not notice if the staff came back tipsy in to work? If no, then change nursery.
These ladies were enjoying their lunch time break or maybe had the rest of the day off. I would not pursue. But I would sniff discreetly when picking up my child and if I saw any sign of someone being under the influence I would talk to the manager and/or pull my child out.

If they were in uniform, then I would report it. If they were finished for the day they should have changed clothes, optics are very important in that line of work. You could just say two members of staff rather than names. Maybe it was a one off birthday drink and never happened before, maybe it is part of a bigger issue that management have already addressed. I work in a nursery and would be quite upset if a colleague drank during work hours, yes you can have down time on a quiet day but part of the job is to be able jump into action when needed and even one drink affects this ability. I saw that as someone who loves a glass of wine!

What do you mean “ it’s different with my own children “ ?

No, this is not ok, any more than it would be OK for a teacher or a hcp or someone driving a vehicle for a living.

They should be reported, assuming they didn't have the afternoon off.

In my work it is gross misconduct to drink alcohol during working hours and that includes any breaks. Cannot imagine why this wouldn't also be the case for staff in any role where they have responsibility for the safety of children. I'm astonished by people saying it's fine if they weren't legless.