legal advice - work policy

heyyo · 08-03-2006, 11:57

Heres the scenario....

A Colleague of mine has a 'drink problem' he was drunk in the office, but his behaviour was normal but his demeanour/attitude was different. there have been complaints made by staff to the management.

which way should my colleague play it...

admit to drinking/reject the idea and just say he was tired on the day/moody

someone advised that he should admit there is a drink problem to management and they cannot fire you they have to support the issue and offer assistance.

can anyone advise...plz
its quite urgent

etccarmageddon · 08-03-2006, 12:06

I would not admit to being unfit for work due to a drink problem - best thing from what little I know is if you want to admit to anything which wont get you sacked then go into the boss and tell him you are suffering from stress.

Any attempt to them sack him/her for being drunk would appear to be an escape route from looking after someone suffering from stress.

---------- Post added at 12:06 ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 ----------

and if they could prove a drink issue he/she could then come up with a defence that it was due to the stress.

JediMaster · 08-03-2006, 12:07

If he has a Drink Problem & rejects their idea... Surly it's going to crop up again SOON? If it was a 1 off then I can see the benifit of saying NOTHING. But I cant see how he can reject the claim if he is a Alchoholic

08-03-2006, 12:08

oh dear, they can't fire him for having a problem, but as far as I know they can fire him for being drunk at work

this is from our company handbook, defined as gross misconduct & subject to summary dismissal

Quote:

Introducing, possessing, using or causing others to use drugs or intoxicating liquor, or being under the influence of such drugs or liquor while on duty or on Company property to such an extent as to affect work performance.

so he is going to have to be very careful what he says.

08-03-2006, 12:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyo

can anyone advise...plz
its quite urgent

Tell your colleague to go home - claim to be sick. Straight away.

Get them to contact their GP immediately and discuss the drink problem.

As the post above says - most companies can/will dismiss in these cases. They can't dismiss for being ill. (Drink problems are an illness.)

heyyo · 08-03-2006, 12:20

the incident happened on monday, he has a meeting tommorow. i dont believe it effected his work or his behaviour with colleagues. he went home early that day too....

but this 'drink' thing has cropped up before so they have wind of this...but nothing has happened until yet...

08-03-2006, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyo

the incident happened on monday, he has a meeting tommorow. i dont believe it effected his work or his behaviour with colleagues. he went home early that day too....

Ah. When you said urgent, I thought this was today...

IF he can claim his work wasn't affected, then perhaps he could argue that people merely complained because they knew he'd had a drink - i.e. smelt alcohol.

Did he go home early or was he sent home? The latter would suggest they decided he wasn't fit for work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyo

but this 'drink' thing has cropped up before so they have wind of this...but nothing has happened until yet...

If they were aware but didn't even give a warning, then I would argue that they perhaps realised that a) the drink wasn't affecting his work and/or b) that he had a problem.

He'd better take some proper advice from an employment lawyer before tomorrow's meeting - and to be sure to have someone there to be with him to witness the meeting to make sure he's not getting unfair treatment.

heyyo · 08-03-2006, 12:33

he left on his account, well advise from colleagues such as myself....

Tuftus · 08-03-2006, 12:36

Do you have a union rep that can sit in on the meeting?

08-03-2006, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyo

the incident happened on monday, he has a meeting tommorow. i dont believe it effected his work or his behaviour with colleagues. he went home early that day too....

but this 'drink' thing has cropped up before so they have wind of this...but nothing has happened until yet...

It could be for the best, in the long run, provided they don't want to pursue the dismissal, its a clichÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â©, but to deal with a problem, you have to admit you have one.

Presumably it was a case of still being under the influence from the night before, which is not good, but much better than having consumed any booze at work.

heyyo · 08-03-2006, 12:42

thats true, yeh u can get a union rep, but i dont think he is a member of any trade union....

Tuftus · 09-03-2006, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyo

the incident happened on monday, he has a meeting tommorow. i dont believe it effected his work or his behaviour with colleagues. he went home early that day too....

but this 'drink' thing has cropped up before so they have wind of this...but nothing has happened until yet...

How did the meeting go?