Staff 'could be drinking in ways that may be harmful'

The alcohol education charity is encouraging hospitality operators to support the health and wellbeing of their employees, through educating and training them about alcohol.

Drinkaware offers a flexible scheme for operators that can be tailored to suit companies of all sizes, and to slot into existing staff wellbeing schemes.

A Drinkaware specialist can offer an interactive session for groups of up to 40 people. The charity also offers the opportunity to Train the Trainer, where it can educate human resources and training teams working at the pub operator. There are also a series of e-learning modules for employees to access in their own time.

"Responsible operators are doing great work in making their pubs and bars places where customers are able to moderate their drinking, by providing a range of soft drinks and low/no alcohol beers and wine and by using Drinkaware resources such as the Drinkaware Crew and the Alcohol Vulnerability Awareness e-learning programme,” said Drinkaware chief executive Elaine Hindal.

"It's important to recognise that staff members at all levels could be drinking in ways that may be harmful, and to offer them appropriate support. We know the majority of operators take the wellbeing of their staff seriously, and so are confident of a good uptake for Drinkaware at Work from the industry.” 

Liz Gaffer, director of marketing & charity services at the Licensed Trade Charity, said: "Our research shows that people working in pubs and bars are more likely to be affected by alcohol-related health problems than the general population, and we provide support through our website and helpline specifically for this area.

"The Drinkaware at Work programme provides another resource that operators can use to identify and help staff who might have a problem and we would encourage all employers to look at how they might use this programme."