{"id":14492,"date":"2024-08-07T18:33:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T18:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=14492"},"modified":"2026-07-22T10:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:11:35","slug":"dismissal-of-nhs-worker-for-coming-to-work-smelling-of-alcohol-was-unfair","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/disciplinary\/dismissal-of-nhs-worker-for-coming-to-work-smelling-of-alcohol-was-unfair\/","title":{"rendered":"Dismissal of NHS worker for coming to work smelling of alcohol was unfair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b5fc8583 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7fc3d43a wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"\"><em>McElroy v Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust ET\/3400622\/2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>unfair dismissal | misconduct | alcohol<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">An employment tribunal has held that an NHS trust unfairly dismissed an employee who was reported for coming to work smelling of alcohol, without further evidence that he was unfit for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-want-to-see-more\">Want to see 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is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a36fa716 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:15px;padding-bottom:15px;padding-left:15px\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Navigate HR complexity with confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">With Brightmine, you can build powerful people strategies, implement best practices and set your organisation up for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Learn how our tools, resources and automation can empower you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/solutions\/?intcmp=cta|blog|solutions|learn-more\" style=\"border-radius:25px\">Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group lnrs-hide-block-on-mobile has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad1af2a0 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wp-block-post-title has-text-color has-primary-black-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/pay-trends\/salary-trends-for-incumbent-employees-june-2026\/\" target=\"_self\" >Salary trends for incumbent employees: June 2026<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-20817 resources type-resources status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry category-whitepapers topic-pay-trends\">\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.274), 16px);line-height:1.3;text-decoration:underline; margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-0b1b36f3c2dfa7682bfd13b67e3228a9 wp-block-post-title has-text-color has-primary-black-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/pay-trends\/uk-pay-awards-h1-2026\/\" target=\"_self\" >UK pay awards in the first six months of 2026<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-20539 resources type-resources status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry category-blogs topic-pay-equity topic-pay-transparency topic-total-rewards\">\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.274), 16px);line-height:1.3;text-decoration:underline; margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-0b1b36f3c2dfa7682bfd13b67e3228a9 wp-block-post-title has-text-color has-primary-black-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/pay-equity\/gaps-in-pay-decisions\/\" target=\"_self\" >Check your blind spot: Find the gaps in your reward decision-making<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4b7a3f7f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" 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RELX serves customers in 180+ countries with 35,000+ employees. Ticker: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ad14550bb07010b79fc22eb0ca4e129e\">Follow Brightmine on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/brightmine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An unfair dismissal case highlighting the risk of relying on allegations of misconduct without sufficient evidence that an employee was unfit for work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":14714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"wp-custom-template-new-resources","categories":[52],"tags":[],"topic":[73],"class_list":["post-14492","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr-news","topic-disciplinary"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO 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