5 replies to this topic

[dfwdilemma]

Hi everyone,

 

I know employees must be sent home if they experienced vomiting within 24 hours. 

 

Would you still send an employee home or reassign duties If an employee vomited one time the morning after a company function (you saw employee drinking alcohol the night before) but otherwise feels fine? 

 

 

[Scampi]

tough call........legally I don't think you can send them home for that (depends where you are) but I would reassign to a different area for the day

[redfox]

Hello,

 

If after vomiting he feels okay, let him stay. But, if he can't perform his duty well because of excessive drinking, let him rest for the day.  It could be a negligence on his part. Besides, he has commitments to the company. It also depends on the country if we talk on legal matters.

 

regards,

redfox

[Just eat]

Hi,

The one time vomiting may have been caused by excessive drinking but this is a correlation, the cause could also be due to them being a carrier of pathogenic bacteria or equivalent which leads to the risk of product and other people on site being contaminated. Without knowing the cause is it not prudent to exclude the person for 48 hours to reduce food borne illness being spread and being consistent with good practice and demonstrating to other staff the implications of vomiting for food safety and also on employee attendance.  

 

Regards

 

Jim  

[Andy_Yellows]

Let him stay. If it wasn't happening yesterday and hasn't happened since that one occasion I think you could quite easily justify having them on site. Let's face it- how often does being a carrier of anything of concern last only through one chunder session? Especially after a few Jagers the night before!

[Parkz58]

From a food safety perspective...likely not an issue, but to be safe, you could have them work in an area without direct food contact.

 

The thing I'm surprised no one has talked about yet - the worker safety aspect.  Someone who is still visibly drunk is impaired.  An impaired employee is a serious safety risk.  For that reason alone, I would send them home.  I would also warn them (verbally) that if they arrive at work under the influence of anything again, they will face appropriate disciplinary measures.  Can you imagine if OSHA showed up for a surprise inspection that day??