Alcohol is always in the spotlight at this time of year as people make their New Year’s resolutions which for many means giving up alcohol and taking part in Dry January. Alcohol Change UK who are the charity behind the campaign promote a number of health benefits of reducing and/or stopping your alcohol consumption including improved mental wellbeing, better sleep and lower blood pressure and this may have a knock on effect among your workforce in preventing or reducing alcohol related absence.
What do the statistics tell us?
The extent to which alcohol affects employees and their employers can be difficult to assess at times but a number of studies have taken place. According to figures from the HSE 3% – 5% of all absence from work is caused by alcohol consumption and with NHS data showing that more than 25 million adults in England are regularly drinking alcohol that figure may be even higher. An Institute of Alcohol Studies survey also found that 42% of respondents had been to work hungover or under the influence of alcohol, and of those people 58% said that it reduced their productivity or effectiveness and 20% that it increased their stress which then also contributed to instances of absence.
What is the impact of alcohol related absence and consumption?
As with any other employee absence, alcohol related absence will impact on your business. Productivity will decrease unless you bring in cover, your costs will increase though as that staff cover will either result in overtime payments or agency fees if you use temporary workers to cover gaps in your team. Your customers can also bear the brunt of absence as levels of service can reduce and this can lead to loss of revenue, negative feedback and damage to your businesses’ reputation. If staff are still attending work but are under the influence of alcohol then this too can be serious for your business. There are no official figures on how many workplace accidents involve alcohol but Alcohol Concern estimates the figure could be as high as one in three. In jobs which involve the use of dangerous equipment and hazardous materials even a small amount of alcohol can seriously impair a worker and increase the risk of an accident. Alcohol absence and consumption can also negatively impact on team morale and increase instances of unacceptable behaviour.
What can employers do?
Employers have an obligation to protect the welfare, health and safety of their employees and this should always be kept in mind. The first step should be to try and determine if a particular employee who is giving cause for concern has alcohol related absence issues. You can establish this through following your company’s absence procedure. Always ensure that return to work meetings are conducted to allow the employee an opportunity to talk to you. You should also monitor absence and accident information to see if patterns emerge. If support is needed then you can refer the employee to your occupational health provider or if you have an employee assistance programme you can signpost the employee to them or other professional support and advice services. There may be circumstances in which you decide that the employee’s absence or their behaviour as a result of alcohol consumption warrants disciplinary action. You company may also have a separate alcohol and drugs policy which will help to guide you in deciding the most appropriate course of action to take. In addition, you might consider running awareness raising events so that employees feel more comfortable to ask for help and always make sure that you give consideration to any social or other out of work events so that they are not entirely centred around alcohol.
Do you have questions about Alcohol Related Absences?
Give us a call at CUBE HR 01282 678321, we’ll be happy to advise you and we have policies and templates available to meet every HR need.
Why not check out our blog on a similar topic Absence Management – 3 Reasons You Should Do It
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