During Alcohol Awareness Week (13 – 19 November), alcohol education charity Drinkaware is encouraging hospitality operators to ‘look after their own’ as well as their customers, with help available from the charity’s Drinkaware at Work programme.
Every year in the UK, 17 million alcohol-related sick days are taken, costing the economy £7.3 billion. Drinkaware at Work helps companies to support the health and wellbeing of their employees, through informative, engaging training and e-learning about alcohol. The programme is flexible and can be tailored to suit companies of all sizes, and to slot into existing staff wellbeing schemes.
Drinkaware Chief Executive Elaine Hindal said: “Responsible operators are doing great work in making their pubs and bars places where customers are able to moderate their drinking, by providing a range of soft drinks and low/no alcohol beers and wine and by using Drinkaware resources such as the Drinkaware Crew and the Alcohol Vulnerability Awareness e-learning programme.
“It’s important to recognise that staff members at all levels could be drinking in ways that may be harmful, and to offer them appropriate support. We know the majority of operators take the wellbeing of their staff seriously, and so are confident of a good uptake for Drinkaware at Work from the industry. The programme has been designed to allow flexible use, so whatever the size of their company and whatever their training needs, Drinkaware at Work can be adapted to suit.”
Liz Gaffer, Director of Marketing & Charity Services at the Licensed Trade Charity said: “Our research shows that people working in pubs and bars are more likely to be affected by alcohol related health problems than the general population, and we provide support through our website and helpline specifically for this area.
“The Drinkaware at Work programme provides another resource that operators can use to identify and help staff who might have a problem and we would encourage all employers to look at how they might use this programme.”
Drinkaware at Work offers:
- ‘For the Facts’: an engaging and interactive session delivered by a Drinkaware specialist, ideal for groups of up to 40 people.
- Train the Trainer: for companies with their own HR/Learning & Development/training team, Drinkaware can instruct and equip them to deliver For the Facts sessions
- Open Programmes: workshops run by a Drinkaware specialist, offering either ‘For the Facts’ or ‘Train the Trainer’. Sessions are limited to 15 participants, making them ideal for SMEs
- E-learning: a series of modules for employees to access in their own time, with quizzes and self-testing to reinforce the learning
For more information on Drinkaware at Work: daw@drinkaware.co.uk
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Notes to editor
Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. Drinkaware has more than 100 funders, including UK alcohol producers, on-trade and off-trade retailers and wholesalers.
For further information visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
Issued on behalf of: Drinkaware
By: ShielPorter Communications
For further information: Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com or 07841 694137
John Porter: john@shielporter.com or 07734 054389