Drugs and Alcohol - What an employer can do?
What can an Employer do?
Find out if there is a problem
- employees can highlight issues/ problems:
- are employees drinking during working hours;
- are employees drinking before coming to work; and
- are employees regularly drinking heavily outside working hours.
Deciding on what action to take regarding excess alcohol
Ask yourself the following four questions:
- Am I happy for employees to drink alcohol:
- during working hours?
- during lunch and other breaks?
- on special occasions?
- when entertaining clients?
- Do I expect the same from staff working in ‘safety critical’ jobs when it comes to not drinking alcohol as I do from staff working in non safety critical jobs or management positions?
- How would I deal with an employee who is finding it difficult to control his or her drinking and whose work is suffering as a result?
- How would I deal with an employee who turns up for work drunk or ignores known restrictions on drinking alcohol?
Consulting others
It is important to consult with others in the organisation, and it may be useful to talk to:
- other managers;
- supervisors;
- staff representatives/trade union representatives; and
- employees.
Creating a written Alcohol Policy and Drug misuse policy
Many organisations have a policy that describes their position on employees’ drinking and drug misuse. A written alcohol policy has many advantages, for example leaving less room for misunderstanding than an informal ‘understanding’.
The personal involvement of senior management will be critical when it comes to developing and introducing an Alcohol and Drug Policy.
Gaining the support of the employees for any change in company rules while creating a Policy, will be much easier if staff feel that they have been consulted beforehand.
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What I can do?
A policy on alcohol and drug misuse
All organisations - large and small - can benefit from an agreed policy, applying to all staff, on alcohol and drug misuse.
Such a policy should form part of your organisation’s overall health and safety policy. Many large organisations have policies that describe their position on drug misuse. A written alcohol and drugs policy has many advantages, for example leaving less room for misunderstanding than an informal ‘understanding’.
A straightforward process to establish and implement a policy for dealing with alcohol and drug misuse at work is set out below.
Remember: it is good practice to have a policy even if you do not find any evidence of current drug misuse. A policy which is in place will enable you to deal with any future problems which may arise. Follow the complete four-step process.
Find out if there is a problem
You may want to explore carefully some key areas of your business:
- sickness record - are there any periods of unexplained or frequently taken absence?
- behavioural changes - what behavioural changes have you noticed in any employee?
- productivity - are there any unexplained dips in productivity?
- accident records/near misses - have the number of accidents or near misses increased or involved particular employees?
- disciplinary problems - have you noticed particular performance or conduct problems with any employees?
These may help you to find out if alcohol and drug misuse is harming your business.
Decide what to do
Following the areas above allows for a better understanding of the many aspects of alcohol and drug misuse at work. It will provide you with a clearer picture of how drug misuse affects your business. But how do you make this work in practice?
You may want to think about the following:
- A programme of awareness for all your staff using the same information described previously. There are many ways to provide such training: group sessions, seminars etc. This programme may also cover an explanation of your alcohol and drugs policy so you may want to incorporate it into your induction process for new employees.
- A programme of training for managers or supervisors on recognising the signs of alcohol and drug misuse. This could be the most crucial part of managing alcohol and drug misuse at work as they will need to be clear about the business’s rules about alcohol and drug misuse. They will need to know what to do if they suspect an employee is misusing alcohol or drugs or if they are approached by an employee who declares a drugs or alcohol problem. Local drug and alcohol or health advisory services may be able to help train managers to recognise the signs of misuse and how to handle the situation. The service may charge for training.
- Encouraging those with a drug or alochol problem to seek help. (Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous NI or FASA)
- The need for confidentiality if an employee admits to a drug or alcohol problem. People with a drug or alcohol problem may be persuaded to come forward if they are assured that their problems will be dealt with discreetly. However, you will also have to consider your own legal position, if evidence or information supplied to you suggests that an employee’s alcohol and drug problem has involved breaking the law at work (see ‘The Legal Position’)
- The nature of the work you do. Are there any aspects of the work that are safety-critical, eg: using machinery, electrical equipment or ladders, as well as driving or operating heavy lifting equipment, where instances of alcohol or drug misuse could have serious consequences?
Consulting others
In deciding what to do, you will almost certainly need to consult others, particularly your employees. You should consult safety representatives appointed by recognised trade unions under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977. If your employees are not covered by such representatives, you should consult them either directly, or indirectly through elected representatives of employee safety, according to the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996.
In larger organisations, good practice would be to set up a working party led by a senior manager to look at the issue of drug misuse as it affects the business. You need to involve the occupational health physician or nurse and personnel managers also where available, as well as workers’ representatives.
This may not be feasible for smaller businesses, but you may find it useful to talk to:
- other managers or supervisors;
- national or local alcohol or drug misuse agencies for advice;
- the local business forum or health promotion unit to get an idea of what other businesses have done in your area.
For further information please consult:
Guidelines on Developing and Implementing Workplace Drugs and Alcohol Policies
Workplace Drugs and Alcohol policies
Remember, getting the support of your workforce for any change in company rules will be much easier if staff or their representatives have been involved.
Screening: What is involved?
More companies, particularly those in safety critical environments, are using screening and testing as a way of controlling alcohol or drug problems problems. It can be used in various ways:
- as part of a selection process for job applicants;
- testing all or part of the workforce routinely, occasionally or on a random basis;
- in specific circumstances, such as after an accident or incident, where there is evidence of drinking or drug taking that contravenes the company’s regulations, or as part of an aftercare rehabilitation programme; and
- to monitor a particular problem, e.g. employees reporting for work with alcohol in their bloodstream from the previous evening’s drinking.
The implications of introducing alcohol and drug screening
Agreement to the principle of screening must be incorporated into employees’ contract of employment. For new staff, this can be fairly straight forward but existing staff are under no legal obligation to agree to changes in their terms and conditions of service. If an employer tried to force a test on an unwilling employee, the employee could resign and claim ‘constructive dismissal’.
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