Employers 'should' help curb heavy drinking

Businesses in the UK should take action to help prevent members of staff from drinking excessively, it has been claimed.

According to comments made to Personnel Today by Ben Willmott, businesses should offer advice and information services on the topic of heavy drinking to employees, in an effort to inform staff about the impact of such action.

Mr Willmott is the employee relations adviser for the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), an organisation established in 2000.

"Employers have a role to prevent their employees from drinking too much," said Mr WIllmott.

"But it shouldn't be seen as a bolt-on - it is part of the bigger picture of providing employee wellbeing programmes," he added.

In related news, a previous study by the CIPD has discovered that four out of every ten employers believe excessive alcohol consumption to be behind falls in productivity within the workplace and staff absence.