Duty of care to fellow employee

[shimeld]

Hi.

I work as bank staff for an organisation and I am employed in one of the commercial departments.

A fellow worker is constantly falling asleep and complains of feeling cold so he puts a convector heater on underneath his desk, he comes to work late and when he arrives he brings his breakfast with him and eats constantly for about half an hour. Also he complains about the chairs being bad for his back while we are happy with them. He has had about three days off work in the short time he's been working for us.

When he first joined us about a month ago there was a very strong smell of weed and we can't prove that he is a user without searching him which we don't have the right to do. He regularly goes out of the building allegedly for a smoke but he's gone for ages.

His work is suffering due to this behaviour and I suspect that all of this is due to weed and addiction.

Myself and others have suggested that he goes to his GP but he shrugs it off.

The problem is that I have complained to our boss about him before and I was told to mind my own business but surely I have a duty of care to him and other co-workers under the law as does my boss.

What should I do?

Kind regards

[efpom]

If you have a duty of care here, and I doubt it, you have amply discharged that duty, by a) advising your colleague to see a doctor and b) airing your concerns for your colleague's welfare to your manager. Your manager has advised you to mind your own business.

If, however, you complain about your colleague's conduct, that is a different matter entirely.

[Ann2304]

Hi there
As an HR Manager for an organisation, have you bought this to your HR departments attention, preferably in writing? Does your organisation have a drugs/alcohol policy, which may include the right to test an employee? If an employee raised these concerns with me, I would then have to take some action, possibly in the form of an informal conversation with this employee and may be a drugs test (we have with cause testing in place). It doesn't sound like his manager is concerned about him.

[Sussexsinger]

Is his conduct affecting you doing your work?