Asked was I drinking at work

LegacyUser

Just wondering what approach to take with this situation.

I work in retail. My manager approached me last week, on the shop floor, and asked me had I been drinking.
I was shocked and said absolutely not and why was he asking. He said he had found an empty bottle of alcohol in a bin. He asked me 3 times was I sure that I hadn't been drinking. I vehemently denied it. I asked him to show me where the bottle was and he said he said he didn't matter because he had disposed of it.
He made no comment on my behavior or why he suspected that I had taken a drink.

I have worked for the company for 8 years and have a flawless record.

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am.

Do I file a formal grievance with a more senior manager?

antix80

Depends. Were you drinking?

Dial Hard

Did they ask everyone who was working at the time or just you?

Augme

I would anyway. Id be very unhappy if I was treated in that manner. It's also the high of incompetentence from your manager and if I was the senior manager I would definitely want to know to.

Needs Must

Was it your bottle in the bin?

Infernal Racket

Are you a bit of a soup monster in general or was there some other reason he suspected it might be you?

boogerballs

antix80 wrote: »

Depends. Were you drinking?

Needs Must wrote: »

Was it your bottle in the bin?

Why would you both ask if he was drinking, I think its clear from the OP that he was not drinking.

I would be raging if my manager asked me that in what can only be taken as an accusation, especially if you have a flawless 8 year record to back it up.

punisher5112

Is there a HR?

I would not be happy with these questions or comments unless warranted.

Were you acting different to normal?

Were you out the night before?

There is so much more we need to know.....

If it's true you weren't and you were working correctly then I understand the upset.

You should get one of these devices that checks for alcohol in your breath. Local chemist. Now, there's your homework.

Donnielighto

If they asked others it's fine. If it's just you or a few an not all asked I'd be asking mgr about it or above.

MayaMaya

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your replies.

No, it was absolutely not my bottle. I have never drunk alcohol at work.
I spoke to a few of my colleagues about it and none of them were asked. That's what really annoys me. I mean, it would be gross misconduct and an instant dismissal if I was, that's why I want to file the official grievance in case he ever asks me something like this again. I want it on record.

He had no reason to suspect me. I was just doing my job as normal. I hadn't taken a drink the night before so there was no smell of alcohol off me plus this happened at around 5pm in the day.

There's an HR department in head office in Dublin but I work in a rural branch of their supermarket chain. There is a grievance procedure to follow so I think I'll file it on Tuesday with a more senior manager.

I just wanted to get some feedback on whether I was overreacting or not.

I found his behaviour so unprofessional and without reason. To not even call me into an office to ask me in private was awful. I was so embarrassed to be asked such a thing out on the shop floor.

Ash.J.Williams

boogerballs wrote: »

Why would you both ask if he was drinking, I think its clear from the OP that he was not drinking.

I would be raging if my manager asked me that in what can only be taken as an accusation, especially if you have a flawless 8 year record to back it up.

Its actually not clear

Ash.J.Williams

MayaMaya wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your replies.

No, it was absolutely not my bottle. I have never drunk alcohol at work.
I spoke to a few of my colleagues about it and none of them were asked. That's what really annoys me. I mean, it would be gross misconduct and an instant dismissal if I was, that's why I want to file the official grievance in case he ever asks me something like this again. I want it on record.

He had no reason to suspect me. I was just doing my job as normal. I hadn't taken a drink the night before so there was no smell of alcohol off me plus this happened at around 5pm in the day.

There's an HR department in head office in Dublin but I work in a rural branch of their supermarket chain. There is a grievance procedure to follow so I think I'll file it on Tuesday with a more senior manager.

I just wanted to get some feedback on whether I was overreacting or not.

I found his behaviour so unprofessional and without reason. To not even call me into an office to ask me in private was awful. I was so embarrassed to be asked such a thing out on the shop floor.

It was inappropriate..report him

Dav010

Bet one of your co workers pointed the finger at you, are you sure you didn’t have a little tipple? Did you drink before on the job?

MayaMaya

Dav010 wrote: »

Bet one of your co workers pointed the finger at you, are you sure you didn’t have a little tipple? Did you drink before on the job?

Seriously?! Yes, I'm sure.
I wouldn't be asking for advice if I had taken a drink on the job. And no, I have never taken a drink at work. Ever.

Rubberchikken

then go through the correct channels to report this.
is he in the habit of questioning colleagues like this?
surely a manager would know how to behave correctly and professionally in this situation.
well id hope they would but maybe im a touch naive .

op hope you get this sorted.

Truckermal

Dav010 wrote: »

Bet one of your co workers pointed the finger at you, are you sure you didn’t have a little tipple? Did you drink before on the job?

FFS did you read through the thread at all you condescending individual....

@OP definitely report that's awful and totally unprofessional of him...

MayaMaya

Thanks. I appreciate the advice.
I'll file the complaint on Tuesday.

Dav010

Truckermal wrote: »

FFS did you read through the thread at all you condescending individual....

@OP definitely report that's awful and totally unprofessional of him...

No need to get so leery about it, no one would blame the op if she had a quick swig to get through the day, bottoms up and all that.

Seriously, unless I missed it, the op didn’t say she was accused of drinking or that it was said in front of others. A bottle was found, she was asked if it was hers.

What’s with the two accounts on the same thread op?

Always Tired

Why would the OP be asking for advice if they had been drinking, ffs. Stop with the semantics, 'oh it wasnt clear.' Cop on

There's no point asking for advice on here, 80% of replys is always ppl jumping down the OPs throat to blame them for whatever the situation is, no matter how they have to twist things to do it.

Is there CCTV in the area the bottle was found?

MayaMaya

Dav010 wrote: »

No need to get so leery about it, no one would blame the op if she had a quick swig to get through the day, bottoms up and all that.

Seriously, unless I missed it, the op didn’t say she was accused of drinking or that it was said in front of others. A bottle was found, she was asked if it was hers.

What’s with the two accounts on the same thread op?

Because I was trying to go anonymous, but posts were taking too long to be approved so I didn't want folk that were good enough to reply to me waiting for days to see my responses.

MayaMaya

Always Tired wrote: »

Why would the OP be asking for advice if they had been drinking, ffs. Stop with the semantics, 'oh it wasnt clear.' Cop on

There's no point asking for advice on here, 80% of replys is always ppl jumping down the OPs throat to blame them for whatever the situation is, no matter how they have to twist things to do it.

Is there CCTV in the area the bottle was found?

I don't know because he wouldn't tell me where he found it. When I asked, he said it didn't matter because he had gotten rid of it.

Stanford

If what you say is absolutely true and if the Manager had no reasonable doubt to single you out then you should lodge a complaint via the Grievance Procedure for bullying.

MayaMaya

Dav010 wrote: »

No need to get so leery about it, no one would blame the op if she had a quick swig to get through the day, bottoms up and all that.

Seriously, unless I missed it, the op didn’t say she was accused of drinking or that it was said in front of others. A bottle was found, she was asked if it was hers.

What’s with the two accounts on the same thread op?

I wasn't asked if I owned the bottle. I was asked 3 times if I had drank what was in the bottle.

CramCycle

MayaMaya wrote: »

I found his behaviour so unprofessional and without reason. To not even call me into an office to ask me in private was awful. I was so embarrassed to be asked such a thing out on the shop floor.

If it was done privately I wouldn't have liked it but doing it on the shop floor was out of line, huge potential embarassment for you (and the company) go to HR and follow the procedure. Is the manager always a tool or was this a first

MayaMaya

CramCycle wrote: »

If it was done privately I wouldn't have liked it but doing it on the shop floor was out of line, huge potential embarassment for you (and the company) go to HR and follow the procedure. Is the manager always a tool or was this a first

He's a tool, in my opinion. Very erratic with his moods.

Stanford

Here is the relevant Code on which to base your complaint

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/codes_practice/cop5/

TCM

It's peculiar that a manager would ask you such a question if u had a flawless record over 8 years.

MayaMaya

Stanford wrote: »

Here is the relevant Code on which to base your complaint

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/codes_practice/cop5/

Thank you.

MayaMaya

TCM wrote: »

It's peculiar that a manager would ask you such a question if u had a flawless record over 8 years.

Yes it is. Very.
He can be really nice to me one day, and really abrupt and rude another day.

Collie D

Even if you don’t want to make a formal complaint against the manager I would like to have something on record to say there was no wrongdoing on your part in case this (or something else) comes up again.