Alcohol at work

Thank you for bringing this up! I am actually appalled that our country seems to be run by people who are dependent on alcohol to get through their working day! No wonder we are in the mess we find ourselves in. No good ever came from excessive/ regular drinking!

Worked in the Civil Service and a bank in the 80s / 90s and had very drunken Christmas parties on office premises. There was actually a bar in one of the Civil Service offices I worked in. I also worked for the Police in the 90s and we would regularly have a drink on the premises at the end of a back shift or night shift

When I first started working aged 18 I had one temp placement in Westminster, totting up MP's daily expenditure in the restaurants and bars. Whenever a birthday of one of us underlings occurred, everyone was asked what they would like! Pernod for me then.
I later worked in the music business and drinking at lunchtime was pretty much compulsory, then some days wine in the office the rest of the afternoon and cocaine was freely used. This was early 80's.

I worked in the Civil Service in the seventies (when I think there was much more of a drinking culture in offices generally), and we often went to the pub at lunchtime, drank in the office after work etc. However when i worked for them again in the naughtiest no alcohol was allowed on the premises.

The Hospital group I worked for since mid 70 ' 2 hospital made up the Group.
Both had Hospital social clubs where staff could drink in the lunchtime if they wanted or had the time? plus Doctors had a "Mess" where they too had a Bar, on both sites.
Not anymore tho' they all went mid 90's.

back in the seventies I worked in the HQ of a government dept and we had a bar where we could purchase drinks during the lunch break.

UK is a nation of binge drinkers whereas in France and Spain they are moderate in their intake. I do not drink and I still have a good time in life.

When I was a student in the 70s, I worked in a local pub during the holidays. Every day at lunchtime, the horn from the steelworks across the road sounded, and two minutes later the bar was full of men rushing in to drink throughout their lunch break, then return to operate machinery.
It was the culture then.

Grantanow

Of course Churchill was known to drink champagne and brandy during the war while leading the nation. Just saying.

Yes - and he did it with style. Different times.

No alcohol while working in my various work places - hotel, local government, hospital, school - though socialising after work was fine off the premises of course.
I did once have to ask for a supply teacher to be replaced when I found they were 'nipping into the stock cupboard' through out the morning - sozzled by lunchtime!

I worked in education for the majority of my working life. Alcohol not permitted on the premises - I totally agree with that.

Consultants at the I.T. Company where DH worked were widely labelled as “Rent a drunk”. When he went to work for an American company along with others, drinking during the working day was strictly banned. Quite a shock for some of them.

Never ….Sacking offence!

Of course Churchill was known to drink champagne and brandy during the war while leading the nation. Just saying.

Forgot to say I don’t think alcohol should be drunk at work - certainly not routinely. Exceptionally, once duties are ended for the day, such as for for celebrations , sensible drinking has a place.

Like Icandhandthemback, I also worked in the Civil Service years ago and alcohol at Christmas and leaving do’s was usual although after working hours of course! So too in the NHS where I worked just before that, although I and my fellow workers were admin staff not clinical. I know from friends that this is no longer permitted but I am told that workmates gather in the pub after work quite often where the alcohol consumption is usually epic!

I worked in banking then the civil service and in later life as a teacher. Any leaving dos, Christmas parties were held at local pubs or restaurants outside working hours, never at work. It was the same with DH who spent all his life working in the railway industry, there were also regular alcohol and drug tests.

Not had wine at work since working in the nhs, however before that ( and decades ago) a small drink with nibbles, before going home on Christmas eve ( when we finished earlier than usual) was not unusual. I think the Christmas Eve drink was commonplace in factories and offices the, because my father always said to get home quickly to avoid the intoxicated drivers! The universities I was at years ago ( both here and in Australia) served alcohol in the staff restaurants.
There are some work places and occupations where drinking at lunch or whilst entertaining clients or customers is commonplace. Alcoholism must surly be an occupation hazard in some industries. I can understand having an on site restaurant in parliament where MPs are expected to attend meetings and house sittings well into the night.

No it was a sackable offence., and if the officers drank before or between shifts, if you could smell it you'd have been sacked for that too.

No, we would of been sacked.

I have NEVER worked where alcohol has been present in the work place so I ask is there ever a need for alcohol to be present in work place for staff. I would say NO.

I worked in IT and for a long time every Friday we would go to the pub at lunchtime. Only one drink each and we would all eat a pub lunch. But there were occasional drinks to celebrate meeting project deadlines at the office during work hours. Some of us worked very long hours and it wasn't surprising to see cans of beer scattered around after hours.

There was a strict no alcohol/no drugs policy for the company drivers, electronics people and a few others and eventually the policy was extended across all staff so everyone was treated the same.

Pippa22

My career was in education and alcohol was definitely not allowed in schools even after hours. If we were saying goodbye to a colleague then we had nibbles in the staff room with juices and then sometimes moved on to a local pub for a meal and drinks. Drinking alcohol on education premises would definitely been a sackable offence and was accepted as perfectly right.

I guess I must have taught in more lenient schools than some people on here.

At my last school, the Headteacher would personally buy fizzy wine on the Inset Day in September if our exam results were good. It was only one glass and the school was not open to children. We also had wine and beer at leaving dos at the end of term, again after the children had gone home.

I retired four years ago but I know that the tradition of celebrating exam results has not changed.

Oh but they do! Certainly in all the law firms I worked in. Not for everyone obviously or readily accessible but there were frequent lunches with alcohol and also after work drinks.

At my first job after university, there was a bar in the staff canteen! London accountants....

Nowadays I don't think anyone at work would have alcohol on the premises during the working day, but it has been known after hours, especially round Christmas. Not more than a glass or two at most though!

I have never worked anywhere where you were allowed to drink alcohol including in a pub setting 30 years ago!