The days of the liquid lunch may be over now that Lloyd’s of London has called time on daytime drinking.
Lloyd’s has told its 800 employees that they are not allowed to drink alcohol between 09:00 and 17:00. The booze ban applies to its staff, not brokers or underwriters doing business in the insurance market.
The company said it had been considering the move for some time. It said that the industry was changing and it wants to bring its employee guide into line with other companies, which also advise staff not to drink during working hours.
However, angry staff have called the new measures “heavy-handed”. Workers apparently aired their grievances on Lloyd’s intranet, with one person asking: “Will we be asked to go to bed earlier soon?”
For many people, enjoying a drink with clients or colleagues can be a positive part of working life.
However, some employees are not able to follow the “enjoy in moderation” maxim and this can lead to issues for employers in managing alcohol dependent employees.
In an internal memo to staff, Lloyd’s said an examination of grievance and disciplinary cases over the last two years found that about half were related to alcohol.
For more about alcohol in the workplace…
In Alcohol in the workplace: ‘I think you’ve had enough’, David Whincup, Partner at Squire Patton Boggs looks at how an employment tribunal may consider alcohol-related cases.
Zoë Lagadec, principal solicitor at Mulberry’s Employment Law Solicitors, spells out what employers need to know about work events, in What happens at the Christmas Party happens at work.
And in Five mistakes employers can make managing an alcohol dependent employee, Laura Livingstone, Partner at Gordon Dadds, looks at how employers can properly manage employees with alcohol problems.