Alcohol at work

Yes, local authority dept for birthdays/leaving/Christmas, drinks and nibbles in the office after 5pm. I retired in 2016.

In relation to Partygate, a glass of wine with a meal during or at the end of the working day when restaurants were closed I don’t have any problem with. They had been working in close quarters all day and would not be any greater risk to themselves or others.

It’s obvious that it went a good deal further than that.

A school I worked at in Spain had wine in the staff room for teachers to drink with their lunch if they wished.

I wouldn't want to be in charge of 35 teenagers if I'd been drinking.

It was the norm to have alcohol at a working or client lunch or in the office when I was working as a solicitor.

And over pandemic weren't done. People working in hospitals, paramedics, shop workers, bin men, most working people in fact also worked very hard and were not treated to workplace events because IT WAS AGAINST THE RULES! DH lost a dear uncle and we couldn't go to the funeral because it was against the rules.

When I was an academic drinks parties were commonplace. However they were invariably held at the end of the working day along with "nibbles". We would then go on to one of the ethnic restaurants for which our city was famed.

Our department had one about once a month - usually to welcome visitors to the uni. Showing people from funding bodies around the department/campus and offering them hospitality was expected. I dont recall anyone getting drunk or sitting on one anothers laps!

I dont know if this still goes on now as I left employed work in 2008. However our RG uni was a very rich one which attracted visitors worldwide and was sloshing with Euro money.

I work with children so it’s definitely a no go!

I worked in the City for 20 years where alcohol was normal for a celebration. I am not saying that was the right thing.

Our daughter was really shocked the first time she went to America on business, her London companies HO was in Silicone Valley, staff were in shorts and flip flops, the staff kitchen had fridges full of wine and beer!
She thought there must be a forthcoming party, no it was there for the taking all day any day!

Alcohol and work where I worked would have meant instant dismissal. If somebody was leaving those working would not have been allowed to have one glass of wine.

That is why those clowns should do the decent thing.

No never. I was a nurse. Events such as leaving, retiring - staff provided food, coffee, tea, juice - never alcohol. You couldn't go back to looking after patients if you had drunk alcohol.