In this note, I want to share my experience on what to do if an employee comes to work drunk, because such behavior “happens” to people.
And as you yourself understand, the appearance of an employee at work while intoxicated can be a source of increased danger, leading to casualties and injuries.
And the first question that arises in this situation for the employer is “a drunk employee in the workplace, what to do according to the law?”
So that it is not an extreme case in this situation, because simply sending him home to sleep and saving others, himself and him from a bad set of circumstances, and employee gratitude are two different things.
Because if something happens that affects his personal interests, even despite the fact that he is wrong, he can also scribble a complaint that he wasn’t even drunk, but you treated him so badly... you didn’t allow him to work, kicked out, fired, or not everyone was paid... and so on and so forth, in general, the situations are different!
What an employer should do if an employee is drunk at work
Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience in this area, because working with drillers, I realized that for them, showing up at work drunk is almost the norm of working life. Their work is dangerous, and this is probably how they relieve stress.
Therefore, the first thing that needs to be done to create a safe job is to send such a person for a medical examination to determine if he is intoxicated.
Now we’ll look at how to draw up all the necessary documents for such a situation, so that later there will be no difficulties in court. And also at the end of the note I invite everyone to discuss: who had what cases, how they solved them, answers to questions, and more.
How to spot signs of intoxication
So, if you suspect that an employee is drunk and you don’t know what to do, first check for primary signs of alcohol intoxication.
Having identified at least one of the criteria that I have given below, we can assume that the employee is drunk or had a good “rest” yesterday, therefore it is strictly prohibited to allow such an employee to perform his duties.
Who knows what he'll do? You should automatically be sent to the hospital for a medical examination!
Criteria for alcohol intoxication:
- The presence of the smell of alcohol on the breath.
- Unsteady posture and unsteady gait.
- Incoherent, impaired speech.
- The skin of the face becomes characterized by sudden changes in color.
- Trembling of fingers.
- Behavior that is inappropriate to the situation.
Particular attention should be paid to drivers undergoing a medical examination before being released on the line, checking the external signs of alcohol intoxication of the employee, since on the road, the person behind the wheel is crucial.
Nowadays, there are more and more vehicles, and the traffic is increasingly dense, and allowing employees to drive a vehicle even if there are residual signs of alcohol intoxication is strictly prohibited.
What does the Labor Code of the Russian Federation say?
If there are signs of intoxication, you do not have the right to force an employee to undergo a medical examination, because everything is on a voluntary basis
