In light of Police Federation claims this week that the drink drive limit in England and Wales should be lowered in line with Scotland, employment law expert, ELAS, has revealed how more than one in five of UK workers drive to work while still feeling under the influence with more than a third of West Midlands workers admitting to the offence and about a quarter of employees in the north west, the north east, London and Yorkshire.
A recent survey of 1,500 workers commissioned by Onepoll and ELAS revealed that more than one in five UK workers have admitted to driving to work whilst still feeling under the influence of alcohol from the night before. Danny Clarke, head of occupational health and safety at ELASsays: “The report from the Police Federation that England and Wales should drop the drink drive limit from 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood to 50mg shows that there are calls for a change to be had. Our poll has highlighted that there is a significant issue among the UK workforce, with more than one in five people still feeling over the limit while driving to work. Employers must take a proactive role in reducing the risks associated with driving under the influence and in raising awareness of the serious implications that driving to work while under the influence can have on employee well-being and work productivity.”
The survey highlighted that the number of workers in the north west admitting to still feeling under the influence exceeded the national average, (23.53 per cent), with over 24.26 per cent admitting to it. West Midlands were the top offenders with 31.13 per cent of workers admitting to feeling over the limit while driving to work. Danny Clarke adds: “This figure only shows those admitting to driving whilst under the influence, highlighting that the figure could be higher. Employers must ensure they have a robust procedure in place. Employers within logistics, transport and haulage industries should take considerable notice of the recent news and must ensure they have robust procedures in places to tackle workers under the influence of alcohol when at work. ELAS sees more and more of these industries requesting onsite alcohol testing to guarantee they are doing all they can to minimise issues that could result in legal action and can have devastating consequences if an accident was to occur.”
Have you ever driven into work the morning after drinking while feeling over the limit?
Yes 23.53%/No 56.67%
West Midlands 31.13%
London 28.02%
North East 27.62%
Yorkshire & Humberside 25.93%
North West 24.26%
East Anglia 21.98%
East Midlands 21.05%
Wales 18.92%
South West 18.81%
Scotland 18.26%
South East 18.25%
Northern Ireland 14.29%