Things To Consider Before Driving Post-Party: How Drink Driving Can Affect Your Career

Post-party, you may think you’ll be alright to drive; especially if it’s the following morning and you’ve woken up on your friend’s sofa with something indecipherable written on your face in black marker. Unfortunately, a quick kip doesn’t remove the alcohol out of your bloodstream. You may not feel drunk anymore, but you’re still under the influence.

Don’t drive, or you could find yourself in court, with your career in jeopardy. Not all jobs are affected by a drink driving conviction, but getting caught could have serious ramifications on your life and career path.

Will You Have To Notify Your Employer?

Not all employment contracts stipulate that you have to declare a drink driving offence. It’s always work checking your employment handbook to find out where your company stands on this. Of course, if your job requires driving, you’ll have to declare your offence – most convictions involve an automatic driving ban. Otherwise, there’s nothing stopping you from keeping it to yourself for the time being.

Will You Lose Your Job? 

Unsurprisingly, this again depends on your job. If your employment contract has certain terms, such as the ability to drive, then you may lose your position. Also, if you were discovered drink driving in a company car or while on shift, your employer will have grounds for dismissing you. To find out your full rights, it’s worth contacting a drink driving offence solicitor.

Will You Lose Your Licence?

Almost certainly, yes. Sometimes, a judge can be more lenient, if you can show that driving is a real lifeline for you, but you’ll still have to kiss goodbye to that licence. We hope you can get to work with a colleague or on public transport.

Professional Associations

Often, a criminal record can jeopardise your position in a professional association – they may even try to eject you from the group. Many will ask you to reveal any drink driving convictions but can be accepting of reformed individuals. You will have to read the association’s position on this; in any case, they often do background checks before letting you join. It’s best to be honest about previous, unspent convictions.

Background Checks

For positions that involve working with vulnerable adults or young children, background checks are mandatory. Most employers will request a Basic Disclosure, but more thorough checks are performed for positions of power.

It’s naïve to think that having a drink driving offence on your record won’t affect your job prospects – it’s competitive out there and if someone is just as good as you and has a clean record, the company is likely to choose them. Drink driving does carry quite a large stigma. That’s why not getting behind the wheel is so important. Don’t gamble with your prospects. Err on the side of caution and don’t drink alcohol if you know you’ll be driving after a party.