Department of Chemistry Alcohol Code of Practice
The Health and Safety at Work Act states that employers must safeguard, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of the people who work for them. The Sector Heads have decided that there is a need to apply rigidly the Alcohol Code of Practice.
No individual should drink more than 2 units of alcohol at lunchtime if (s)he intends to return to work. If this limit is exceeded, personnel must not return to work and must take the rest of the working day off as part of their holiday entitlement.
Departmental parties, e.g. the Christmas party, retirement parties etc, must be held after 4 pm, and there must be no consumption of alcohol in laboratories under any circumstances. Anybody who has consumed more than 2 units of alcohol at a Departmental or private party in the Department must leave the premises and must not return to the laboratories that day. Small celebration parties and receptions can take place at any time with the approval of the Head of Department provided that no individual drinks more than 2 units of alcohol.
Below, for your guidance, is a table of how many units of alcohol there are in different types of alcoholic drinks.
How Many Units In Your Drink?
| Beers And Lagers | UNITS | |
| Ordinary strength beer or lager | half pint 1 pint 1 can |
1 2 1.5 |
| Export beer | 1 pint 1 can |
2.5 2 |
| Strong ale or lager | half pint 1 pint 1 can |
2 4 3 |
| Extra strength beer or lager | half pint 1 pint 1 can |
2.5 5 4 |
| Ciders | UNITS | |
| Average cider | half pint 1 pint quart bottle |
1.5 3 6 |
| Strong cider | half pint 1 pint quart bottle |
2 4 8 |
| Spirits | UNITS | |
| 1 standard single measure in most of England and Wales (sixth gill) | 1 | |
| 1 standard single measure in Northern Ireland (quarter gill) | 1.5 | |
| fifth gill measure | 1.25 | |
| quarter gill measure served in some parts of Scotland | 1.5 | |
| 1 bottle | 30 |
| Table Wine (including cider wine and barley wine) |
UNITS | |
| 1 standard glass | 1 | |
| 1 bottle | 7 | |
| 1 litre bottle | 10 |
| Sherry and Fortified Wine | UNITS | |
| 1 standard small measure | 1 | |
| 1 bottle | 12 |