I've Got Someone Sacked .....

sanaxe1 · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:31

And what did you reply?

Robbo · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:32

albert said:
UPDATE: Talking to my supervisor today about it and he said when he went into the office with the lad he could immediately smell beer and told me he'd definitely had more than 4 cans (his words). The sunroof on my car was open which is why I didn't smell anything. Also I went to my manager and more or less said that he's a good worker and everyone deserves a second chance. The reply I got from him was 'if he was a bad worker and done the same thing would you want him back?'

You did the right thing, don't beat yourself up about it.

I certainly would not sympathise with someone that is willing to operate machinery when drunk and put others at risk.

K1LLSW1TCH · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:34

If he was a responsible adult he wouldn't have gone into work half cut anyway.

Pate · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:37

albert said:
UPDATE: Talking to my supervisor today about it and he said when he went into the office with the lad he could immediately smell beer and told me he'd definitely had more than 4 cans (his words). The sunroof on my car was open which is why I didn't smell anything. Also I went to my manager and more or less said that he's a good worker and everyone deserves a second chance. The reply I got from him was 'if he was a bad worker and done the same thing would you want him back?'

You were in the car with him and couldn't smell beer, but the supervisor could? Surely a sunroof isn't that effective?

How could he know he "definitely" had more than 4 cans? I could have one sip of beer but spill some down myself and therefore stink.

(just playing devils advocates here

)

Castiel · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:46

albert said:
UPDATE: Talking to my supervisor today about it and he said when he went into the office with the lad he could immediately smell beer and told me he'd definitely had more than 4 cans (his words). The sunroof on my car was open which is why I didn't smell anything. Also I went to my manager and more or less said that he's a good worker and everyone deserves a second chance. The reply I got from him was 'if he was a bad worker and done the same thing would you want him back?'

How your supervisor can estimate the amount of alcohol someone had drunk just by smell is a clever trick....

Your managers question to you, while I suspect it was rhetorical is pretty daft. If he was a bad worker, you wouldn't want him back regardless of whether he was in breach of his contract or not.... :confused:

It sounds like he will not be coming back, don't beat yourself up about it, ultimately it was his own fault for coming into work drunk and you did nothing wrong by ensuring he didn't put anyone, least of all himself at risk by actually working.

Put it down to experience and move on.

churchhawk · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:50

I cannot stand people who "tell" on people at work. We all hate going to work so the workers should stick together and just see the working days through then go home, in my eyes you do not grass on people in work.

Why the hell you would go straight in and tell your supervisor is beyond me.

sorry to say it but I couldn't work with someone like you.

piggeh · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:53

To be honest if you had said he drives a school bus for a living everyone here would have supported your action. I know its slightly contextual but even so, there is a danger using heavy machinery maybe not as pronounced but all the same.

Really the guy should have phoned up before work started and said he couldnt have come in, either pulling a sickie or being honest. The only thing you can be self critical about is you could have turned round and drove him home, but you're not his mum and people need to be responsible for their own actions.

Moothead2 · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:55

churchhawk said:
I cannot stand people who "tell" on people at work. We all hate going to work so the workers should stick together and just see the working days through then go home, in my eyes you do not grass on people in work.

Why the hell you would go straight in and tell your supervisor is beyond me.

sorry to say it but I couldn't work with someone like you.

Yeah Man! **** tha' Police man! They're all against us man! We gotta stick together man!

Fluke? · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:56

IMO, good call OP. You didn't get the guy the sack. If anyone is bitching about the fact he was fired they need to realize that the senior manager made that decision, not the OP.
If the guy had been drinking that soon before work and not perhaps feeling just a bit grim from the night before then really he should have had the nounce to pull a sicky. If he was incapable of thinking this then perhaps it was because he was too rat-*****. If he was this drunk god knows what could happen at work. Also, if he had been there for over a year then surely he would have been away of the policy on drink and drugs?
A bit naff that the guy got the sack, sure, but definitely not the fault of the op.

Mucky_Pup · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:58

churchhawk said:
I cannot stand people who "tell" on people at work. We all hate going to work so the workers should stick together and just see the working days through then go home, in my eyes you do not grass on people in work.

Why the hell you would go straight in and tell your supervisor is beyond me.

sorry to say it but I couldn't work with someone like you.

You want to be the one to go round and tell someone's wife and kids that their dad has been crushed to death by a forklift driven by someone who came into work half cut? And then tell them "tough ****, at least his mate didn't "grass" him up"

Robbo · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:00

churchhawk said:
I cannot stand people who "tell" on people at work. We all hate going to work so the workers should stick together and just see the working days through then go home, in my eyes you do not grass on people in work.

Why the hell you would go straight in and tell your supervisor is beyond me.

sorry to say it but I couldn't work with someone like you.

I couldn't work with an irresponsible person like you.

Deluxe1 · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:01

Judging by the responses in this thread it reads to me a lot of people have never worked in a factory.

In all the factories ive worked in over the years if a team leader or foreman had of done this then they would have been classed as scum and had the cold shoulder off the rest of the workforce.

churchhawk · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:06

Robbo said:
I couldn't work with an irresponsible person like you.

I would have been responsible, especially if he was a guy who i had been taking to work in my car for a year!

I would have just stopped the car told him to get out, went into work and told them he is sick.

To have him in the car and him tell you that hes had 4 beers means he kind of trusted the guy not to tell on him, therefore an element of friendship was there, which of course the OP didn't see or didn't care about.

Sorry but i still stick to my statement, you do not grass,snitch whatever you want to call it on people, there are other ways around things in the workforce without resulting to telling on people.

Robi · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:07

Running into work and backstabbing a so called mate is probably one of the worst things you could ever do.

I'm not condoning what this guy did, you should never drink before work, especially when operating something as dangerous as machinery. But why, what did you get out of it? Aside from losing a mate.

You should have told him to pull a sickie.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing.

SexyGreyFox · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:10

This is a real tough one OP and I'm glad it didn't happen to me.
Nobody has mentioned the fact that if you had sent him home, at a later date he could have come in drunk, caused an accident and I'd bet my life that during his case he would mention that you had sent him home once.
Good deeds can come back and bite you.

Robbo · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:11

churchhawk said:
Sorry but i still stick to my statement, you do not grass,snitch whatever you want to call it on people, there are other ways around things in the workforce without resulting to telling on people.

Where do you draw the line with your 'do not grass' rule?

Moothead2 · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:12

Robbo said:
Where do you draw the line with your 'do not grass' rule?

When he's on the stand as an accessory to murder charge

.

Vonhelmet · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:13

Deluxe1 said:
Judging by the responses in this thread it reads to me a lot of people have never worked in a factory.

In all the factories ive worked in over the years if a team leader or foreman had of done this then they would have been classed as scum and had the cold shoulder off the rest of the workforce.

Well, I think we're probably all glad we don't work in factories either, if we'd be expected to defend a drunk colleague.

Destination · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:14

Pixel said:
You'd feel even worse if he'd killed someone with heavy machinery at work, and you knew you could've prevented it.

This is certainly true.
You could also have drove him home, told him to take a half day sickkie and come in for the afternoon.
You did the right thing preventing him use machinery and should be commended for such, there are other ways to prevent him driving it, your option was certainly valid.

Bloomfield · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:19

dmpoole said:
Nobody has mentioned the fact that if you had sent him home, at a later date he could have come in drunk, caused an accident and I'd bet my life that during his case he would mention that you had sent him home once..

Loads of people have mentioned exactly that

.