Alcohol Awareness Week, running from the 16th – 22nd November, aims to educate people about the dangers of consuming too much alcohol. The theme of this year’s awareness week is ‘The impact of alcohol on health and society’ which will address the repercussions that alcohol can have on our daily lives, including in the workplace.

Around this time of year, more people are encouraged to ‘get into the Christmas spirit’ by drinking alcohol more frequently, such as after-work drinks and parties. This may result in drinking more than the recommended daily allowance, even if it’s work the next day.

Waking from an alcohol-heavy night and starting the working day could have more sinister consequences than just a bad hangover; employees could find themselves over the drink-driving limit and they could still have enough alcohol in their bloodstream to affect their performance at work.

Promoting workplace safety 

While as a company you are not legally required to implement any alcohol and drug policies, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers have a responsibility to look after the health, safety and wellbeing of their staff.

One way to generate awareness is to place posters around the workplace, clearly displaying how many units of alcohol is too much. While it may seem a little extreme, if your business involves working with machinery or driving of any kind, you may want to purchase some alcohol testing kits to give yourself complete peace of mind that an employee isn’t operating a vehicle over the legal limit.

Emma Gilroy, brand development manager at Direct365, commented on the research: “Many of us are guilty of drinking more than we should during the Christmas period, and nobody wants to be a festive killjoy, but when people overindulge on week nights it could have serious consequences the next day while they are at work.

“Our research shows that one in four people openly admit that they will be drinking more over the next few weeks, so businesses should take extra precautions to ensure safety in the workplace such as educating employees about alcohol units and having alcohol testing kits onsite.

“It may seem extreme, and you certainly don’t want to alienate staff by forcing them to line up and take a test as soon as they walk into the building, but it’s important that any employees who are still under the influence aren’t allowed to put themselves or their colleagues in danger. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

www.direct365.co.uk