THE IDEA of banning all alcohol around the workplace is gathering force as the evidence against the demon drink piles up.

Earlier this year a report published by a group of experts from the Academy for Medical Sciences said that alcohol is more harmful than some Class A drugs.

Drink was ranked the fifth most harmful of the 20 drugs examined, ahead of ampheta-mines, cannabis and ecstasy.

According to the Health and Safety Commission, 90% of human-resources directors from top British organisations say that alcohol is a problem. The commission also claims it accounts for 8m to 14m lost working days in this country each year.

A survey carried out by YouGov for Pru Health found that each day some 200,000 British workers turn up to work hung over from the night before.

“That’s a frightening number of lost days,” said Nigel Lynn, managing director of the professional and executive division of the Carlisle recruitment group. “It is a huge loss of productivity.”

Although Lynn believes that a ban on drinking in and around the workplace – similar to the national smoking prohibition – may emerge in the future, he is not convinced that there will be completely dry companies, employing only nondrinkers, as some people have suggested.

“There is already a skills shortage. You don’t want to bring in another restriction,” he said. “In the end you have to ask people to be sensible and responsible about alcohol. Obviously, we can’t have drinking at work but there is no reason to ban a glass of wine over a business lunch. Companies should have a code of conduct about drinking and stick to it.

“Where there are problem drinkers, they need to be helped. Companies are already encouraging their workers not to go straight to the pub after work. They often offer perks of gym membership or set up sports events for them. We are all becoming more aware of the effects of drinking on our health,” said Lynn.

Reflecting this, more companies are formalising their policy on alcohol. In a survey carried out by the law firm Browne Jacobson, it was found that 57% of businesses ban drinking altogether during working hours, which includes lunchtime.

There are regional variations, with a much sterner view being taken in the West Midlands than the rest of England and Wales. The most liberal is the southeast, where only one in four businesses have drinking bans.

Peter Jones, employment partner at Browne Jacobson, defends the policy: “It is not so much a case of businesses wanting to be prescriptive, as aiming to ensure safety, quality and productivity at work.

“Businesses relying on drinking bans must ensure that these policies are consistently applied and that the reasoning behind them is clearly communicated to staff and fully understood throughout the organisation,” he said.

Sikin Andela, an employment-law specialist at Glovers Solicitors, said employers had a right to ban alcohol during the working day without fear of being accused of discrimination. But she said: “They should be careful when devising alcohol policies. It may not be possible to apply them to existing employees.”

In the public sector, outright drinking bans are not so common, and there is greater reliance on common sense.

Birmingham city council doesn’t ban all drinking during working hours except for workers who are driving or using machinery but people are expected to behave reasonably.

Its spokeswoman, Janet Priest-ley, said: “There are some occasions when it is appropriate to have a drink at work – a party in an old people’s home, for example.”

Brighton and Hove city council, which has 8,000 employees, takes a more stringent view.

Its deputy leader, Sue John, said: “We introduced a complete ban on drinking during working hours in 2005. It is deliberately a clear policy ruling out drinking, including at lunchtime. We don’t see it as a Big Brother policy at all. It is more about getting people to take responsibility for their own actions.

“It has worked well. There are a lot of benefits for the council, including a healthier work-force and a better image with the public. It also helps us to manage our health and safety and increases the productivity of our workers.

“Council staff are allowed to drink in their own time in the evening and at weekends. They are encouraged to take responsibility for their lifestyles. But when they are at evening functions because of their job, they have to stick to soft drinks,” she said. This does not apply to elected councillors, although they are expected to adhere to their code of conduct.

“The drinks ban is something that might catch on in the public sector,” she said. “We are in the front line here. It wasn’t inspired by a particular case. It came from our continued focus on gaining further professionalism in our work.

“If employees are known to have been drinking they are sent written reminders of the rules and given warnings under the normal disciplinary procedures. For us, this has been enough enforcement. We haven’t found it necessary to be so heavy-handed as to use a breathalyser but if people smell of alcohol they are asked to go home at once,” she said.

Helen Symons of Alcohol Concern said that banning drink during the working day would be a huge first step in helping employees with a drink problem, but other steps must follow.

“It must be regarded as a health rather than a discipline problem,” she said. “Workers need to be given support and not stigmatised and their confidenti-ality needs to be respected. Managers need appropriate training. Specialist treatment should be available and a clear policy publicised regularly,” she said.

Whatever has to be done, there is little doubt that it will be cost-effective. Government figures for alcohol problems in the UK estimate the annual total cost of reduced performance and productivity amounts to £6.4 billion.

That is a sobering thought.

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