Legal advice: Is it okay to have a drink with colleagues at the end of a shift during the Christmas period?

Before having an alcoholic drink at work, check employer policies and make sure your professional responsibility is not impaired, says legal expert Marc Cornock

There is no Nursing and Midwifery Council rule that states you cannot have a drink at work, but this would be covered by your overall responsibility to maintain a professional standard and be fit and competent to practise safely.

By ‘end of shift’, do you mean the very end of your shift, when you have officially left work? And by ‘colleagues’ do you mean those whose shift is ending at the same time?

You and your colleagues need to consider whether having an alcoholic drink at the end of your shift falls short of maintaining your professional responsibility.