Page 33 - November December Issue
P. 33
Alcohol and Drug Abuse at Work
thankfully none as ghastly as that one. alcohol dependency problem. Following a disciplinary
procedure he was summarily dismissed. You need an
When I was a health and safety coordinator I would appropriate policy
regularly remind my colleagues in the run up to
corporate events (sales conferences, the Christmas All these examples illustrate the importance of having a
party etc.) not only of the risk of making fools of policy on drugs and alcohol in the workplace, linked to
themselves under the inluence of alcohol, but also your disciplinary procedures, that is appropriate to the
of still being unit to drive the following morning environment in which you are operating. A policy will
if they were up carousing until the early hours. send out a irm message to your employees about what
Thankfully the message hit home, and I did not have is and is not acceptable behavior, and enable you to take
to deal with anybody else being injured, or even just decisive action if the rules are louted.
losing their license, on account of “the morning after
the night before”. In the case studies above, we were able to dismiss our
cider-drinking warehouseman without repercussions
When I worked in manufacturing, rumor had it because our policy stated that being unit to work due
(although it was never proven) that we had a local to alcohol or other mind-altering substances was gross
drug pusher on our payroll. He was caught with a misconduct. In the other case, the absence of a policy
small amount of drugs in his possession and served permitting testing for alcohol and illicit substances meant
a short custodial sentence for possession, but was we were unable to take action against the suspected drug
not convicted of dealing. As sheet metal fabricators dealer.
there was all kinds of dangerous machinery in the
factory; the thought of any of it being operated by If you are engaged in any kind of manual labor, or
somebody under the inluence of a mind-altering your people operate machinery, or drive on business, it
substance was beyond the pale. In conjunction with is likely that you will take a zero tolerance approach.
the Trade Union, which fully supported our stance On the other hand, if you are in the hospitality sector
on Health and Safety grounds, we adopted a zero for example, you may decide that moderate and
tolerance approach to both alcohol and drugs, and responsible alcohol consumption is acceptable in certain
introduced a policy that permitted testing both “for circumstances, and that action will only be taken against
cause” (i.e. if there was a reasonable suspicion that an individual who is clearly unit to work.
somebody was under the inluence of a mind altering
substance) and at random. We could not dismiss Whatever your stance, if you have an Employee
our suspected dealer, but at least we could deter any Handbook, or a Health and Safety Policy, you should
future misdemeanors within the workplace. include a section about alcohol and drugs. Even if you
only have a Disciplinary Procedure, make sure that
And in another organization I vividly recall receiving being under the inluence of drugs or alcohol at work
an urgent request to go to a colleague’s private ofice, is a speciic example of either misconduct or gross
where a warehouse operative was being questioned misconduct, depending on the nature of your work and
by his manager. The employee had glassy eyes and the risks involved in your workplace.
a vacant expression, he was slurring his words, and
the ofice reeked of alcohol. He was protesting that Once you have a policy in place, enforce it consistently
he was not drunk - he had only had one glass of cider and set a good example yourself. If you turn a blind eye
at lunchtime, as he did every day. Fellow employees to misconduct by a senior manager or key employee, you
had witnessed him weaving across the loor of the will undermine your credibility as well as your ability to
warehouse, in the vicinity of fork lift trucks, clearly take action against others.
not in possession of his faculties, and alerted the
manager. Apparently this was not the irst time he Being drunk or stoned, whether operating a machine or
had been like that after lunch. Half a dozen witnesses behind the wheel of a car, really isn’t funny, and having
conirmed their view that this individual had an to deal with the aftermath of a road trafic accident or
33
thankfully none as ghastly as that one. alcohol dependency problem. Following a disciplinary
procedure he was summarily dismissed. You need an
When I was a health and safety coordinator I would appropriate policy
regularly remind my colleagues in the run up to
corporate events (sales conferences, the Christmas All these examples illustrate the importance of having a
party etc.) not only of the risk of making fools of policy on drugs and alcohol in the workplace, linked to
themselves under the inluence of alcohol, but also your disciplinary procedures, that is appropriate to the
of still being unit to drive the following morning environment in which you are operating. A policy will
if they were up carousing until the early hours. send out a irm message to your employees about what
Thankfully the message hit home, and I did not have is and is not acceptable behavior, and enable you to take
to deal with anybody else being injured, or even just decisive action if the rules are louted.
losing their license, on account of “the morning after
the night before”. In the case studies above, we were able to dismiss our
cider-drinking warehouseman without repercussions
When I worked in manufacturing, rumor had it because our policy stated that being unit to work due
(although it was never proven) that we had a local to alcohol or other mind-altering substances was gross
drug pusher on our payroll. He was caught with a misconduct. In the other case, the absence of a policy
small amount of drugs in his possession and served permitting testing for alcohol and illicit substances meant
a short custodial sentence for possession, but was we were unable to take action against the suspected drug
not convicted of dealing. As sheet metal fabricators dealer.
there was all kinds of dangerous machinery in the
factory; the thought of any of it being operated by If you are engaged in any kind of manual labor, or
somebody under the inluence of a mind-altering your people operate machinery, or drive on business, it
substance was beyond the pale. In conjunction with is likely that you will take a zero tolerance approach.
the Trade Union, which fully supported our stance On the other hand, if you are in the hospitality sector
on Health and Safety grounds, we adopted a zero for example, you may decide that moderate and
tolerance approach to both alcohol and drugs, and responsible alcohol consumption is acceptable in certain
introduced a policy that permitted testing both “for circumstances, and that action will only be taken against
cause” (i.e. if there was a reasonable suspicion that an individual who is clearly unit to work.
somebody was under the inluence of a mind altering
substance) and at random. We could not dismiss Whatever your stance, if you have an Employee
our suspected dealer, but at least we could deter any Handbook, or a Health and Safety Policy, you should
future misdemeanors within the workplace. include a section about alcohol and drugs. Even if you
only have a Disciplinary Procedure, make sure that
And in another organization I vividly recall receiving being under the inluence of drugs or alcohol at work
an urgent request to go to a colleague’s private ofice, is a speciic example of either misconduct or gross
where a warehouse operative was being questioned misconduct, depending on the nature of your work and
by his manager. The employee had glassy eyes and the risks involved in your workplace.
a vacant expression, he was slurring his words, and
the ofice reeked of alcohol. He was protesting that Once you have a policy in place, enforce it consistently
he was not drunk - he had only had one glass of cider and set a good example yourself. If you turn a blind eye
at lunchtime, as he did every day. Fellow employees to misconduct by a senior manager or key employee, you
had witnessed him weaving across the loor of the will undermine your credibility as well as your ability to
warehouse, in the vicinity of fork lift trucks, clearly take action against others.
not in possession of his faculties, and alerted the
manager. Apparently this was not the irst time he Being drunk or stoned, whether operating a machine or
had been like that after lunch. Half a dozen witnesses behind the wheel of a car, really isn’t funny, and having
conirmed their view that this individual had an to deal with the aftermath of a road trafic accident or
33
