Alcohol and substance misuse: tackling it in the workplace
Jason Bleasdale, Hill Dickinson LLP
Hill Dickinson will be running a series of mock trials at Safety and Health Expo.
No-one wants employees under the influence of drugs or alcohol, in their workplace — neither as their employer nor as a fellow employee. If they come into work employees under the influence can be either overtly disruptive, or less obviously challenging to work with.
Alternatively, working days may be lost with consequent impact on productivity or pressure on other employees if they are left to pick up the slack. If issues continue longer term, or unchecked, an employer might find themselves on the wrong end of a civil claim from a fellow employee, or even a member of the public, should erratic behaviour cause stress problems for others or a violent or unsafe outburst. An employee under the influence can be a danger both to himself and to others. The problem cannot be ignored so, what should be done?
There are two aspects to dealing with drug and alcohol problems affecting the workplace, firstly, identifying and dealing with issues when they arise and, secondly, protecting yourself (and your workforce) from the consequences if something does go badly wrong.
Identifying the issue requires a delicate balance to be struck, between protecting your workforce and workplace on the one hand, and supporting your employee to accept and remedy any issue on the other. In terms of legal obligations both data protection and human rights issues come into play. In some workplaces a system of drugs testing either carried out regularly or just when a problem is suspected, may be appropriate. The Employment Practices Data Protection Code also suggests an alternative falling short of invasive drug testing by using assisted performance tests and equipment to measure hand-eye coordination and response time. Email monitoring and evidence from CCTV cameras may also provide objective evidence of a problem.
However you decide to tackle an issue, an essential element to doing so successfully, is ensuring that you have effective policies in place and that these are communicated to your workforce on a regular basis. These will arm you with the ability to use disciplinary processes if you suspect a problem or, where you do want to use drugs testing, if an employee refuses to undergo a test. If you do end up dismissing an employee for reasons relating to suspected drug or alcohol abuse, the policies should provide a background against which to do so without leaving yourself open to claims that you have breached an employee’s rights. If a civil claim is made against you as the result of an intoxicated employee in your workplace, ensuring that you have procedures in place to detect and prevent such issues may provide you with a chance to defend any claim.
An objective and clear policy will set out at least the following:
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How any tests will be carried out
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What support will be available to drug / alcohol misusers
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What disciplinary action may be taken when
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The circumstances in which a test could take place
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What acceptable levels of use are for a particular substance
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Possible consequences of being tested
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How test information will be used
A clear health and safety purpose for the testing, combined with a clear policy should avoid difficulties relating to an individual’s rights under the Data Protection Act and, equally importantly, any issues relating to fair treatment.
Alcohol and substance misuse: tackling it in the workplace
Jason Bleasdale, Hill Dickinson LLP: No-one wants employees under the influence of drugs or alcohol, in their workplace ヨ neither as their employer nor as a fellow employee.
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