Substance abuse in the workplace is a serious issue but, at the same time, it’s often misunderstood. It can stem from a lot of different causes, including personal difficulties, addiction, or even stress.
Regardless of its origin, drug and alcohol misuse can have a huge impact on your employees’ health. It can also affect safety, productivity, and team dynamics. For employers and managers, it’s important to deal with issues like this with a high level of care.
Understanding Your Ethical Responsibility
In the UK, it’s an employer’s legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment. This means acting swiftly if an employee is suspected to be under the influence of either alcohol or drugs.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes it illegal for you to knowingly allow drug use on your work premises as well. Failing to act when there are signs of alcohol or substance abuse can also expose you to legal consequences. While the addiction itself is not classed as a disability, it may be that the employee is struggling with a mental health problem, which would fall under the Equality Act 2010.
For employees in safety-critical roles, there may even be additional requirements for alcohol and drug testing. Even in cases like this, employees have to follow strict protocols.
Substance Abuse Support & Prevention
A workplace that supports the wellbeing of its employees and fosters open communication will always be more efficient at dealing with drug and alcohol issues. The first step is for you to create a substance misuse policy. You also need to make sure that you set out your company expectations and what happens if someone breaks those rules. A good policy will reinforce the goal of keeping the company substance-free, as opposed to punishing those who use them.
Managers should also learn how to approach signs of misuse with sensitivity while reducing stigma. As stigma is a huge barrier for those who need help, it’s important to take steps like allowing flexible working and even implementing stress-reduction strategies. By promoting this, it becomes possible for employers to encourage people to seek help before the issue develops into something more serious. Anonymous surveys can go a long way here, as can hosting training sessions, so people can spot the signs and discussions can be normalised.
Handling Incidents
Even though a lot of preventative measures may be in place, employees may sometimes appear to be under the influence. Situations like this have to be handled discreetly. As an employer, it’s your job to make sure that you speak with the employee in private and that you also gather facts, rather than making assumptions. In cases where the employee acknowledges that they have an issue, you should not resort to dismissal. This could result in you breaching a contract, and it may be that you also end up putting yourself at legal risk.
Instead, you need to offer time off for treatment or ensure that they get access to the right support or professional services. If repeat offences are an issue, then disciplinary meetings or additional procedures may become a necessity. During this time, you need to maintain ongoing communication, and you also need to take note that colleagues may be affected by this as well. It may be that they are exposed to risky situations or that they have increased workloads as a result of you having to let a team member go, so widespread support for every team member may be required here.
Managing Alcohol
Parties and work events can result in the line being blurred regarding suitable substance abuse. Employers have to remember that they owe their team a level of care during events like this and that they should also set expectations. Staff should also know that they still have to abide by professional standards even when working out of hours. If you can make them aware of this and implement the right measures to support it, then you will reduce the likelihood of substance or alcohol misuse.
If you want to manage drug and alcohol misuse at work, then we encourage you to get in touch with us at Premier Legal. We have experience in many employment policies and benefits, not to mention that we can also help you to address issues while preparing for future incidents. If you want to find out more or if you are looking for support regarding drug or alcohol misuse at work, then contact us.
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Author
sarahrobinson@premier-legal.co.uk
Sarah Robinson is the Managing Partner and has specialised exclusively in employment law since qualifying as a solicitor in 1996.
Sarah has considerable experience of representing clients in many different industry sectors including insurance and financial services, corporate finance, technology, legal services, automotive, hotel and catering and media as well as the public sector.
Areas of particular interest include restrictive covenants, TUPE and advising in relation to discrimination.