Employers are set to clampdown on drinking or drug abusing workers with the introduction of testing for their staff.

Currently just one in ten bosses test staff for alcohol or drug abuse, but in a survey of personnel managers carried out for Alcohol Concern, Drugscope and Personnel Today nearly a third said they were considering the introduction of testing in the next year.

It is thought that 14 million working days are lost each year because of booze-related problems with publicans, bar staff, doctors, lawyers and seamen are those most at risk of dying from alcohol abuse.

Most of the employers questioned for the survey thought lunchtime drinking should be banned and 10 per cent would discipline staff for drunken behaviour that occurred outside office hours.

Seven per cent said they would sack workers with a drink or drugs problem but most managers said they were not confident they could recognise the signs of drug misuse among their staff.