ALCOHOL abuse is to blame for 60 per cent of workplace deaths in Scotland, according to new research.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents conference in Glasgow was also told yesterday that the number of Scots killed in the workplace increased to 38 in 2002 — up 40 per cent from the previous year. Most deaths involved an individual falling or being hit by a moving object, the Health and Safety Executive found.

John Griffiths, a consultant on promoting health at work, said that urgent action was required to control the problem of drink-related deaths. “It is not a case of spoiling people’s fun. We have to recognise that we have a responsibility to come to work in a way that is safe and is not going to harm either ourselves or our colleagues that we are working with,” he said.

Excessive drinking has also left Scottish business with a financial hangover, costing almost £300 million every year in lost man hours. Nearly one in five companies has also reported illegal drug use among their employees, costing the companies a further £100 million in sick time.

Mr Griffiths, a consultant with Work to Health, said that the problem had been around for some time but organisations were still not addressing it properly. “Employers need to recognise it is their problem not someone else’s,” he said.

“They need to sit down and develop coherent strategies to deal with this situation. That could mean taking disciplinary action or making a referral for employees to seek a specialist for counselling. Drug and alcohol charities report that up to one in three people who seek help are in steady employment.”

Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that up to 10 per cent of employees may have a drink problem but fewer than 10 per cent of companies had an official drink or drugs policy.

Safety experts say that drink-related problems now cost employers up to £3 billion every year in the UK from 14 million “lost” working days. Hangovers are estimated to cost at least £53 million a year in sick days and underperformance from workers.

More than 170,000 people claim to have a work-related health problem, resulting in the loss of 2.2 million working days — worth an estimated half a billion pounds — each year.

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