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.

As she's not necking back the booze before rolling two and a half tonnes+ of stuff around a warehouse, I doubt that the OP has anything to worry about on that score.

She’s set a precedent. If someone loses someone it will be perfectly fine to check her bag - just in case.

How can she possibly set a precedent? She’s done it secretly, won’t tell anyone about it and has no power or authority to set a precedent?!

Wouldn't bother me particularly. All they'll find is a hairbrush, lip gloss I never remember to use, couple of tampons and my lunch box/water bottle containing water rather than gin.

You’d really be fine with colleagues going through your belongings… bullshit.

She looked through the colleague’s bag WITH OTHERS. How was that “secret”?

Yup. Used to have bag checks way back when I worked in a shop on Saturdays, didn't bother me then as I hadn't ever stolen anything. Somebody looking in the tote dumped on the shelf behind my chair isn't going to offend me, either. Because I've not done anything wrong/illegal/dangerous. It's actually a sackable offence at my work to have alcohol of any kind on site, as well as to be under the influence of it - if they wanted to look inside to check there wasn't a can of G&T in there, no skin off my nose.

Well, “another colleague” really indicates one other. Who is also presumably not dumb enough to tell anyone

Here is what the Health and Safety Executive says:

'Employees have general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
They must take reasonable care of themselves and others who may be affected by their actions and comply with their employers arrangements for managing health and safety.
If you are an employee or working under someone else's control, the law says you must:

• inform your employer of any work situation you consider dangerous, or of any shortcoming in their protection arrangements for health and safety
• use all work items provided by your employer correctly, in accordance with your training and the instructions you received to use them safely.'

Re bullet point 1 above, you have (or suspect you have) a dangerous situation at your work because a colleague working in the warehouse is drinking (or you suspect he is) and could cause harm to himself and/or other staff. It is your duty as an employee to inform your employer, and it is up to your employer to deal with it.

PS - it is not your duty to search bags, so please don't do that again!

Like post it on an online forum, you mean.

I find it hard to believe that anyone on here would actually be ok with finding out a colleague had secretly been through their personal belongings, however innocent they were. It’s an unbelievable invasion of privacy. Can you imagine the responses to a ‘I discovered my work colleague had rifled through my bag when I went to the loo’ thread?

I'd be the one posting 'Did you have something you shouldn't in there?'.

I'm still amused by how long it took DP to actually get things rather than bring the entire thing over to me when I'd say 'can you get my phone/charger cable/whatever, please? It's in my bag'. It's not a big deal in my mind.

Oh it's full of these busy body, cancel culture arseholes falling over themselves to ruin people's lives. It's the sick world we currently inhabit in this Country.
Fucking Big Brother.

Six pages of the same thing.
Bag rifling, even if with good intentions is reprehensible.
The pissed up machinery operative should be reported on basis of breath and behaviour.

Meanwhile OP still being berated despite showing contrition.

Many seem to think this is a bigger issue than possible outcome of damage/injury/death caused by pissed up operative.

Thank you @Redbushteaforme. It’s everyone’s responsibility to look out for each other and customers/clients. Saying it’s “the company’s responsibility” means nothing, companies are made up of people!

I have direct reports who work at a different site to me. I really hope that if one of them was drunk at work someone would alert me or another manager. Not just decide it wasn’t their responsibility.

“I’m beginning to wish we hadn’t done it” doesn’t really shout contrition.

Both OP and the suspected drinker should be reported to the manager to investigate misconduct. OP could make this report herself - but she won’t, of course.

OMG!!!
You have to report it!
Report his behaviour to your manager. They and HR need to look into it.

Say nothing of the bag search... whatever possessed you to do this! Never do things like this again. HR can, and will, do things like this indeed. At least, that was written on our contract in the plants I worked in- that we would agree to random searches. This should be in a contract for a warehouse too.

Don’t mention the snooping if you are going to report to management.

Why not mention the bag rifling? Why not be honest? Because there would be consequences?

You were being VVVVVVVU for looking in his backpack.

That would be an act of omission.

What is your companies policy about drinking at work? My work has a very strict policy because of the nature of our job and so the procedure if you suspect someone is drinking at work is very clearly set out (and includes the option for OH to breathalyse someone). Against that we also provide counselling and a generous sick pay policy so while someone couldn't be on site they would get support.

They should have not looked into his bag, we all know that. It is wrong. But the possible consequences of working on a warehouse while acting like drank are much much much higher!

Ignore the posters who are being dramatic and saying you’ll be arrested. What a load of nonsense. You need to speak to your manager and say you have concerns as you can smell alcohol on him, and leave it as that. If there was a workplace accident, you’d feel guilty you didn’t say anything.

If there's a chance that he could cause injury to someone at work, then yes I'd have to say that I would report that I could smell alcohol on his breath throughout the day and his behaviour at work on a day to day basis has become noticeably more erratic. Sounds like he has lost his licence through DUI and is now risking his job.

It wasn't a good idea to go in his bag for "proof" but I guess you wanted to satisfy yourselves that what you suspected, was in fact true. However I'd leave that bit of info out. If you report, HR or whoever would know there's cause for concern and can do the requisite follow ups.