Every year thousands of employee lives are affected by alcohol and drug misuse, with the employee’s career being one of the first areas to suffer. Alcohol and drug misuse is on the rise in the UK and unsurprisingly this can have a major impact not only on an employee, but also their colleagues and their employer. Alcohol and drug misuse can surface in the workplace in many ways, such as, increased sickness absence; lower productivity; greater safety risk at work; relationships with colleagues and in some cases gross misconduct resulting in dismissal.
Alcohol and drug misuse has a significant impact, costing the UK economy £36bn each year. 70% of drug misusers are in full-time employment, and according to Alcohol Concern, 11-17 million working days are now lost due to alcohol misuse, costing the UK workplace £1.8bn every year.
When employees are misusing alcohol or drugs, there is an increased possibility of either physical or emotional injury when at work and also an increased risk of occupational injuries and fatalities. More than 10% of workplace deaths involve alcohol. Alcohol and drug use and misuse at work can also cause employees to make poor choices about the way they interact with colleagues and clients which could lead to legal issues and damage to the Company’s reputation and brand.
It is not only illegal drugs that cause issues at work. Legal ones, including prescription drugs or over the counter medication, can be misused. In addition, some drugs, even when prescribed, can affect an employee’s ability to work safely and productively, especially if the job requires a high level of concentration or alertness.
All employers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment for all of their employees, under the Health and Safety at Work Act. This includes ensuring that employees are not knowingly allowed to work whilst under the effects of alcohol or drugs. Ignorance of the issue is not considered a valid excuse. Allowing any employee to work whilst under the effects of alcohol or drugs can cause a risk to themselves and their fellow employees.
All employees also have a duty of care not only for their own health and safety but the health and safety of others who could be affected by their actions or omissions.
Employers can benefit from having an Alcohol and Drug Policy which effectively manages the issue of alcohol and drugs at work while providing clear guidance for employees.
The policy must be suitable for the organisation and be in line with other policies used, especially the occupational health policy and disciplinary policy. Although the policy will be a key health and safety objective, it would normally be managed as a HR policy.
The policy should have definitions that support the key terms used in the policy and if the policy is used, it should be able to stand up to a legal challenge.
Employees should be aware of the rules regarding the use of alcohol and drugs at work and the consequence of contravening the policy, but they should also be aware that they would be supported by their employer should they seek help for an alcohol or drug dependency but help must be sought before they contravene the policy.
In summary, the issue of alcohol and drug at work cannot be ignored and by having a robust Alcohol and Drug Policy that is clear and concise and easy for employees to follow, will minimise the risk to your workplace and ensure that the use of alcohol or drugs does not impair the safe and efficient running of your workplace or put at risk the health, safety and wellbeing of your employees, customers, suppliers or members of the general public.
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