Colleague drinking at work

[Chasa]

My colleague is known for liking a drink and I and others have smelled drink on him on previous occasions. However, over the past fortnight his behaviour has become more hyper at work as if he wasn't just nursing a hangover but was actually still perhaps drunk? Another colleague suggested that maybe he was drinking at work so we decided to go and look in his backpack and there was an empty kids drinks bottle with a tiny bit of wine left in it. So he is drinijng on the job. So do we do anything or mind our own business? He's a nice guy on the whole. I'm thinking say nothing, I need advice.

He works with machinery and smells of booze?

You should have raised it at the point the smell was notable and the behaviour changed

Before snooping around

I think it would be reasonable to report this as a safety concern, as he is handling heavy machinery, purely for the reasons apparent to anybody keeping an eye on him; the lingering smell, the erratic behaviour. It is a H&S matter, regardless of cause. No need to mention going through his personal belongings; it was wrong, and the bottle could be explained away.
You say that the "hyper" behaviour has only been for the last two weeks or so, and he has recently stopped driving himself to work. This may be because his behaviour is becoming harder for him to control, and he is keeping quiet about losing his licence because it will have implications for his job.
Early in my career, I observed from a distance as a colleague was moved on; it was the outcomes which caught up with her (unpunctuality, increasing spells of absence, impaired performance in the classroom) but this was after a "special medical" to establish whether her inability to sustain the work was medical or from other causes.

There's no technically wrong about it, you were just wrong. You should have just raised the concerns about him being drunk at work but no you rifle through the bag and now can't do anything about it.

You shouldn't have gone through his bag. If you were concerned you speak to your line manager or HR.

I've been where you are, but there was no snooping involved. I reported my concerns, that was all I could do.

Jesus fucking christ. MN at its finest.

This is pretty straightforward, I'm surprised there is any debate.

"Hi manager, can I've a word? I can't be certain but I suspect X is drinking alcohol at work. He appears to become intoxicated during the day. That's all. Bye"

If he’s intoxicated then it’s a breach of basic health and safety requirements so you should definitely report your suspicions of him being drunk whilst carrying out his duties, especially as he’s operating machinery.

Drunk employees at work are fine until one day, they’re not!

I would go to management and say you are concerned about his behaviour and can smell alcohol on him. Don't admit to the snooping.

Does your workplace have a health scheme, and would he be in it?

Sneaking booze into work means he's got a serious addiction. It will kill him. Best case: you report your suspicions (not snooping!) to management, the employer has a process involving their health insurance, he gets packed off to rehab on the corporate dollar, he goes into recovery and lives a long and useful life.

Even if that cushion doesn't exist where you work, they should have a compassion-based process supporting him to recovery. Depends on specifics, I guess.

If OP takes it any higher she’ll have to admit to looking in his bag and likely face dismissal as a result.

Is it illegal to drink on the job?

We sometimes go to the pub and have a couple at lunchtime.

I think you need to tread carefully.
You can’t say you went through his bag or that he smells of alcohol.
But if he’s acting drunk then I’d gently suggest it to your boss.

You should obviously not have gone through his personal belongings. However, if you smell alcohol on him, and it's dangerous at work, then you should report that you are concerned about him.

Anyone who is decanting wine into a kids' drink bottle is in trouble, and needs help. I saw my dad decant wine into a lemonade bottle one morning which he took in his briefcase to work. A few months later his work sent him to a private de-tox clinic (he was quite high up in financial services).

This poor man isn't doing this for fun - he's doing it because right now he can't function without it. He needs help before he ruins his own life and his family's and possibly his colleagues'.

She won't. There are other, more obvious ways to know if someone's been drinking at work. The smell and the behaviour are reason enough to speak up, so nobody's going to ask what other evidence has been found.

You looked in his backpack?! That’s not on at all. You should have dealt with this another way, starting possibly with an informal chat with his line manager or HR depending on circumstances.

Report your concerns to your manager. Don't say about the bottle you found.

And the person drinking at work is the one in the wrong. How can people defend someone doing this is beyond me.

Would another opportunity arise to search his backpack or maybe jacket if it’s unattended? You might find his wallet and there could be cash inside which could be a nice little windfall for you.

Good grief, so much hand-wringing about OP looking in someone's bag, when there's a potentially drunk person operating equipment in a warehouse!

OP you have an obligation under H&S law to report any risks that you are aware of. I'd say he was a risk, wouldn't you?!?

• Edited to add link to H&S at work act from the ACAS website:

https://www.acas.org.uk/health-and-safety-at-work

There is a real issue in people covering for someone who is drinking at work, they are reluctant to report it, but it does need reporting. I have had to deal with this in a school and it was really difficult as colleagues had staged several interventions to try to help resolve it. The person went really out of their way to hide it and used to take the contents of their bin out to their car... however one night they did not and a can of fizzy drink was found to hold spirits. They were managed out but it took me a couple of terms to deal with it.

You need to report it to a manager and to HR, you are not snitching or getting them into trouble, they are at the point of needing help and doubtless you company can provide that.

Is anyone friendly enough to have a quiet word . It may jolt him into seeking help .

Arrested for what ??

Whilst I do believe that searching through their bag was morally wrong I still think this needs reporting to management and I am sorry if that upsets anyone. This person is under the influence of alcohol in the workplace, this is dangerous and unacceptable.

If you don’t feel you can do this personally you could consider writing an anonymous note…..underhand I know but the colleague needs protecting from themselves and everyone else has a right to work in a safe environment.

This is (a) a health and safety at work issue and (b) a welfare issue. Tell management he is drunk at work. It will accelerate the resolution. The alternative is that he hurts himself or some else as he increasingly, inevitably loses control.

Do you then drive vehicles on the job?

If he can’t get through a day without alcohol, he is putting himself in danger. The right thing to do would be to get him help to stop.