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Exactly. If I was the OP's boss I'd be annoyed it hadn't been dealt with by the 'team leader' and that I'd now been forced into a corner and had to get rid of an otherwise decent employee.
I've Got Someone Sacked .....
- Thread starter albert
- Start date
Exactly. If I was the OP's boss I'd be annoyed it hadn't been dealt with by the 'team leader' and that I'd now been forced into a corner and had to get rid of an otherwise decent employee.
It is amazing to see a clear cut line between those in management positions and those who work as employees. The concept of "grassing up" does not exist in an adult workplace where machinery is involved. If you cannot abide by the company policies regarding drugs and alcohol in the workplace then you should not be at the workplace. It is entirely the responsibility of the individual to ensure they are fit for work. Anyone with concerns about another ability should always report it up to be dealt with appropriately.
I have seen people sacked for being under the influence of alcohol after being called in out of hours. The person in question had a few drinks in the evening an received a call regarding a breakdown. He chose to go into work to help out where alcohol was smelt about his person by the security guards. He was then escorted from site and disciplined according to the zero tolerance policies.
Whilst he may have been trying to do a good thing and be helpful, he knew the rules and chose to head onto site after drinking in the evening. He should have taken the call and advised the management team he was unable to come onsite as he had been drinking and offer advice over the phone only. His sacking was no-one's fault but his own.
OP did the right thing and protected both the company, its employees and assets. Ignore the guilt as you did nothing wrong. Friend or not. Work is to earn money and you need to look out for yourself and follow the rules.
I have seen people sacked for being under the influence of alcohol after being called in out of hours. The person in question had a few drinks in the evening an received a call regarding a breakdown. He chose to go into work to help out where alcohol was smelt about his person by the security guards. He was then escorted from site and disciplined according to the zero tolerance policies.
Whilst he may have been trying to do a good thing and be helpful, he knew the rules and chose to head onto site after drinking in the evening. He should have taken the call and advised the management team he was unable to come onsite as he had been drinking and offer advice over the phone only. His sacking was no-one's fault but his own.
OP did the right thing and protected both the company, its employees and assets. Ignore the guilt as you did nothing wrong. Friend or not. Work is to earn money and you need to look out for yourself and follow the rules.
Caporegime
Friends don't let jackasses drink and operate heavy machinery.
Soldato
Your there to earn money not make friends. Its his own fault, and he should never have put you in that situation.
The moral of the story is, don't give anyone a lift to work.
wow I bet you're a real fun team player
I think i'd have advised him to call in sick too
Soldato
Sounded good shadowman until you said "friend or no friend". No friend would actually go straight above a friends head and ignore the massive consequences. The guy can't make mortgage payments now. Nice one..
Man of Honour
The man was a liability. Op did what had to be done.
Soldato
firstly it is COULD HAVE not could have !!!
Secondly the OP knowingly drove his friend into work even after he told him. At the point he told him he should have simply refused to take him into work and forced him to either take a days holiday or go sick.
you really should have done this, not fantastic leadership skills really. I appreciate it's his fault but your job is to look after your staff as well.
B@
a real friend wouldnt put another friend in the situation where he felt he had to intervene.
Can't believe some people are saying he should have told him to take a sick day!
The person in question was driving a folk lift and while it's no tank one wrong move could mean a large load of good's being dropped on someones head.
The OP did the right thing imo.
Who's to say if he let him away with a sick day that he wasn't going to do it again and not tell the OP this time around?
The person in question was driving a folk lift and while it's no tank one wrong move could mean a large load of good's being dropped on someones head.
The OP did the right thing imo.
Who's to say if he let him away with a sick day that he wasn't going to do it again and not tell the OP this time around?
Soldato
This..... as a manager of the team leader I would have disciplined him also for failing to correctly manage and or control his own staff and then demoted him for showing the inability to people manage correctly.
Although I support the contention that the OP could have handled the situation in a more discretionary way and I am not entirely convinced as to the motivations of the OP with not warning his friend prior to reporting him the actual fault for the incident lies firmly with the employee not the OP.
The OP is guilty of being a pretty poor friend, he is not ultimately responsible for the chap not being able to pay his mortgage.
I think the term "friend" needs definition. For me the term is loosely used to describe a friendly relationship with a work colleague or employee. I am friendly with the staff who work for me but I would not consider them "friends" in the sense of my friends who I see socially at home.
I am not "friends" with any work colleagues from previous positions. I have my work life and my private home life. Both are very separate. I go to work to earn money and provide for my family. If I can be "friendly" with my colleagues to make life easier then so be it but at the end of the day they are not drinking buddies or going to be attending my wedding so why should their out of work personal lives concern me? The guy breached a major safety policy by drinking before work. His mortgage is his concern. My mortgage is my concern. He go what he deserved imo.
A friend would not put a friend in any position that makes them question their own ethics, morals or do anything which would have a negative effect on themself. By your reasoning the OP has himself and possibly a family to support. Who is more important? Stick to the rules and you wont get burned long term.
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Soldato
Who tells the team leader they've been drinking when they're going into work?
Who does that!?
Who does that!?
Man of Honour
From the contect of the OP they're friends, and its something that might just slip out. Especially if the guy in question is a little bit tipsy.
Soldato
He didn't intervene properly though. He went above his head and got a skilled worker walked off site, took the blokes dignity and turned his life upside down. If he had intervened in the car things would be very different. Not much leadership from a team leader.
Caporegime
So your management style is to blame team leaders for their supervisees' behaviour at home? Being able to control your team's drink problems is not a requisite for a good team leader.
OP did the right thing, but I personally would have sent him home and told him that next time I'll be forced to inform a manager.
If he is tipsy enough to let that slip out then why is he even going into work to drive a fork lift? Good judgement on behalf of the employee would have seen him not even get in the car as he knew he shouldn't. He decided to go to work after a few drinks and the zero tolerance policy bit him hard. Example has now been set to the workforce that it is enforced and further incidents will be reduced. The OP not only stopped a potential accident occurring that day but may have prevented a further one down the road next time someone wants to try their luck as they may think twice about it.
I would assume that he would refer to an acquaintance at work as a colleague rather than a friend, which implies something more personal in nature.
Regardless of the nature of his relationship the OP did in fact allow the employee to enter the workplace under the influence without warning him of the consequences or company policy regarding health and safety at work which if nothing else shows a distinct lack of leadership skills and as a manager I would question the decisions of someone who would allow even that risk.
Soldato
Drive whilst under the influence = OMG BABY KILLER
Operate machinery under the influence = aww give him another chance he didnt mean it
Operate machinery under the influence = aww give him another chance he didnt mean it