Advice on co-worker taking drugs at work

Soldato
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My other half works as a live-in careworker looking after children. It's a small company, heirarchy is
Owner>area manager>house managers.
In the particular house she works in the children are a little older and mature (15 and 16 iirc) but there should always be 2 members of staff on site with 2 children.


A fairly new member of staff has had some weird behaviour, work really sloppy, disappearing off at will to go and get himself a takeaway etc.
Constantly going for smoke breaks, eats a couple of mouthfuls of food at meal time then bins the rest. quite a few other bits as well but nothing significant.

Last night, my partner said she could smell weed on him, and he went out to his car for a smoke and when he came back in the smell was even stronger, his eyes were all bloodshot and he avoided conversation with her, he made his excuses, grabbed a drink and some snacks and went to bed for the night, but the smell was so strong that it remained in the kitchen for a while after he left.

She immediately contacted her manager (who was at home at the time), who in turn has contacted the area manager.
They have pretty much said that they aren't going to act on it because
- it will be her word against his
- a drug test wouldn't prove he was doing it on shift (WTF), he could have done it in his own time, he might have done it in his own time and the smell was in his car then when he sat in it on his break it then transferred to his clothes without him actually smoking it.
- he might turn it around as her being racist (again WTF)

I am now self employed but at my last place of work, they did random drugs tests, and regardless of when they were taken if you had drugs in your system it would be instant dismissal.
Further by their logic, he could have walked to work smoking a joint (or drinking etc) and stubbed it out before starting shift and that would be ok ??

I am shocked to see that company that is supposed to be caring for children doesn't take something like this extremely seriously.

She doesn't know what to do as it seems they are brushing this under the carpet now.

fwiw she gets on with her manager, their is no bad blood between them.
 
Soldato
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She can report this to the care commission and if he also a registered care worker the body responsible for them. I would also be taking this further as this is endangering the children if you want to go down that route.
 
Caporegime
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Utterly shocking response by them! Surely this is a massive child safeguarding issue? It also doesn't matter if he's taking drugs outside of work time, if they're in his system during work time they could be affecting his performance.
 

Dup

Dup

Soldato
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I would get the customer on side to uphold the complaint (so she has evidence) if she can but also inform the CQC anyway, but that will reflect on the company she works for.

Chances are she is stuck with the issue so maybe complain to work with someone else or leave the company tbh. They do things as cheap as possible and any management they have to do is too expensive, they just sack people and get someone else in and usually it's not the dossers.


We had some care assistance for my terminally ill father a few years ago. One day a man dressed in plain clothes walked into the house unannounced, barging past me in the process, then into the kitchen where he was looking around for something. I pointed out he had walked passed the front room where my dad was laid gargling on the fluid around his lungs dying, he responded "where's the keys to the back door". It was very odd, he'd never been before and it was like he was scouting the house for where things are, they were asked to leave and not come back.

Sadly these jobs don't always require the highest of skill barriers and attract cheap employees with a cheap mindset so it's very hit and miss. Also, every man and their dog seems to be smoking weed publicly these days, so it's not surprising but uncomfortable to be around.
 
Soldato
OP
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Utterly shocking response by them! Surely this is a massive child safeguarding issue? It also doesn't matter if he's taking drugs outside of work time, if they're in his system during work time they could be affecting his performance.
This was pretty much my exact thoughts.
Although he blatently was taking them inside work, she isn't stupid.

Oh I just remembered something else that was said to my partner.
None of the senior's have smelt it.

I just feel like its weak/lazy management. The manager of the home was recently sacked (for various reasons) and the current manager is a stand-in (the deputy manager) who is in the process of applying for the manager job. She is very young though (I guess mid-late 20s)
 
Soldato
OP
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I would get the customer on side to uphold the complaint (so she has evidence) if she can but also inform the CQC anyway, but that will reflect on the company she works for.
Customer ?



Sadly these jobs don't always require the highest of skill barriers and attract cheap employees with a cheap mindset so it's very hit and miss. Also, every man and their dog seems to be smoking weed publicly these days, so it's not surprising but uncomfortable to be around.

They (like any car job) are woefully underfunded/paid.

She has been offered the senior role, it is 50p more per hour, so a ton more paperwork and responsibility for about £35 per month.
The deputy is on around 28k, and previous manager was on 38k, but current one being offered 32k.
once you go above senior, overtime is expected but as it is a salaried role there is no compensation for doing so, in actual fact they don't really earn more than the bottom level RCWs
 
Soldato
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Next time he does it, phone the police and provide the time, location and reg of the car so they can stop him as soon as he leaves work.

he'll get a driving ban and lose his job anyway.


Other options are to confront him/record him doing it but it puts her at risk or go straight to the owner saying she's not happy with the response.

She could also go back to her managers saying she isn't happy with that response and something needs to be done as he's a danger to himself, her and the children, especially in the case of a fire etc. She'd hate to have to escalate this or make it public. ;)
 

Dup

Dup

Soldato
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Customer ?
I assumed live-in akin to those who work at a family home not an actual care home, sorry.

They (like any car job) are woefully underfunded/paid.

She has been offered the senior role, it is 50p more per hour, so a ton more paperwork and responsibility for about £35 per month.
The deputy is on around 28k, and previous manager was on 38k, but current one being offered 32k.
once you go above senior, overtime is expected but as it is a salaried role there is no compensation for doing so, in actual fact they don't really earn more than the bottom level RCWs

Yeah, I've known a lot who have done this sort of work and it's been fairly brutal in terms of par/reward, which is sad really. Probably earn more working as an HCA in a hospital and more-or-less choose when she wants to work too!
 
Soldato
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If I'd reported that, and the management had ignored my concerns, I'd be calling the police.

The police would be more than happy to drugs swab him at the roadside after he got in his car to drive home for the day. They certainly wouldn't care if it was from the night before.

If its just weed and his job isn't impacted too much I would be inclined to just get on with my life.

The OP already shows that this guy is useless and it is impacting his work.
 
Soldato
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Talk to the owner, talk to the Police, phone Crimestoppers, take it as high up the chain as you can. Local papers, if you have to.
This individual has a duty of care to those children. If something happens because he's high on something... well, use your imagination.

Shop the ****.
 
Soldato
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She should put it in writing to her management so if anything does happen she can show that it has been reported.

To be honest if my management were refusing to do anything I'd be seeing if there were any other channels it could be reported under.
 
Soldato
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I would never want to work for a company that wouldn't allow me to do whatever I pleased during my own time. I'd fail any drug test spectacularly and I expect my coat sometimes has the smell from the previous night on it but I think it would be pretty unfair to give someone the sack for it in their system. I've pretty much always worked in schools and fortunately they haven't been so controlling that they felt the need to do drug tests.

Now if he was smoking at work I think it's a bit different. But I think that's the same if you turned up to work half-cut. Most places would be an instant dismissal.
 
Soldato
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I am pro cannabis, but completely against people smoking at work and especially with the job roll he has, and he can clearly not operate when on it, should be sacked
 
Associate
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Ask for the response that management gave to you (at both levels) to be provided in writing, signed, dated and witnessed.
Then carry on.

Being intoxicated or under the influence of drugs will be gross misconduct and grounds for instant dismal at pretty much every place of work in the UK.
Working in the care industry with responsibility for others / minors doubly so and most likely had special mentions about responsibility in the contract.

Medical marijuana is available in the UK, but only by special dispensation currently. I as far as am I aware its not prescribed in a form that be smoked.
Either way again its likely to be something listed as a big no no in a care based contract.
 
Soldato
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I would never want to work for a company that wouldn't allow me to do whatever I pleased during my own time. I'd fail any drug test spectacularly and I expect my coat sometimes has the smell from the previous night on it but I think it would be pretty unfair to give someone the sack for it in their system. I've pretty much always worked in schools and fortunately they haven't been so controlling that they felt the need to do drug tests.

Now if he was smoking at work I think it's a bit different. But I think that's the same if you turned up to work half-cut. Most places would be an instant dismissal.

i think that's kind of the point, this wasn't just before hand, it was during shift. And you can do what you like in your home as long as it's out of your system before you get behind the wheel of a car or are put in a position of responsibility.
 
Soldato
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I would never want to work for a company that wouldn't allow me to do whatever I pleased during my own time. I'd fail any drug test spectacularly and I expect my coat sometimes has the smell from the previous night on it but I think it would be pretty unfair to give someone the sack for it in their system.
The railways would sack you on the spot if they found drugs in your system, and rightly so. I'd expect no different from a company like this.
Even if you have nothing still in your system, simply knowing that you're into drugs sets a really bad example for the kids.
 
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