Employment law SOS: drink-driving design engineer

As the employee is otherwise excellent, it seems unlikely that you would wish to dismiss him. Furthermore, you could work around the six-month ban, especially given the fact that driving is not the main element of this job. This would obviously be different if he were, for example, a lorry driver and could not perform his role at all without a driving licence. It may, however, be appropriate to give the employee a warning that any such future bans could lead to disciplinary action or even dismissal. It is common for employees who drive as part of their jobs to have a clause in their employment contracts giving the employer the right to dismiss the employee summarily for loss of their driving licence. However, it is recommended that such a clause only be included if driving is essential to the performance of the employee's role. While driving is a part of the design engineer's job, it is not the main focus of his work. A six-month ban is not the longest of bans and the employee could probably work around it by using public transport or taxis, at his own expense if necessary. Regardless how you deal with the design engineer, it is important that employees are made aware of the company's policies in this area. It is also worth noting in writing the reasons for not dismissing the employee in this case, as you might have a similar situation in the future where you do wish to dismiss. The ability to distinguish both situations will be important (failing which the subsequent dismissal is likely to be unfair).