The survey polled 1,342 employees from a range of industries in the UK. Only 7% said they never drink at lunch time during the working week, and another 3% said "it depends".
Peter Done, MD of Peninsula, said: "The implications of having potentially drunk employees in the workplace will be a problem, with issues such as health and safety regulations and basically the fact that employees may be intoxicated is not an altogether ideal environment."
Peninsula says a company's policies must be communicated to all employees to ensure that the rules are not broken when it comes to alcohol. "If there are frequent problems employers may be forced to review the situation," says Done. "If there is a persistent offender it would be wise to interview the employee to discuss why the liquid lunch is a problem for the business."
The risk of overreacting is highlighted by a bizarre case in Germany earlier this year: a waiter who was sacked for drinking up to 100 bottles of beer every day managed to win his case for unfair dismissal, according to a report by Ananova. The news service notes that he was awarded €3,000 and three months' salary after losing the job he described as his "dream".