THE LABOUR ACT 2003 - ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE AT WORK Whilst delivering a training session recently, I asked

the participants an important question about their practice when it comes to dealing with Alcohol and Drug Abuse at Work; Are Alcohol and Drug Abusers badly behaved or are they sick? The general consensus of the participants was that, such people choose to become addicted. It is choice that leads a person to Alcohol or Drugs and it is that same choice that keeps them coming back. Therefore it is behaviour. Would you agree? I dont. You see if you take the approach that addiction is down to behaviour, then your approach in the workplace will be to try some behaviour modification. I have heard so many wonderful things that Employers do for their addicted Employees, from counseling to prayer camp. If you accept (as I do) that it is a sickness, both physical and psychological, that the addict has no control over, then you have a substantively justified way out of that caustic employment relationship. In fact s15 of the Labour Act 2003 gives two get-out clauses which can be applied in the case of an alcohol or drug addicted Employee (remember substantive justification?). A contract of employment may be terminated by the Employer, If the Employee is found on medical examination to be unfit for employment, and because of the inability of the worker to carry out work due to sickness or accident. You could also look at alcoholism and drug abuse as misconduct and use your workplace provisions to fairly terminate, but you see some addicts are functional addicts. They can do their jobs alright with an occasional hiccup that does not call for serious sanctions. I believe that it is a better option to name addiction as a disease and approach it as you would a long-term sick Employee. Health and Safety is the responsibility of EVERYONE in the workplace. The Labour Act 2003 says that; .. An Employer must take practicable steps to ensure that the worker is free from risk of personal injury or damage to health during and in the course of the workers employment or while lawfully on the Employers premises. A worker also has a right to work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions. A worker is under a duty to take reasonable care for the safety and health of fellow workers. Any use of non-prescribed drugs, stimulants and alcohol by an Employee, either before or during work hours is a workplace hazard, not only for the Employee using them, but also for any other person in the workplace. Drug and Alcohol usage can bring with it problems of perception, understanding, judgment, and memory. It also affects nerves and muscles, body movements associated with mental activity, and co-ordination. This usually means a higher use of medical benefits, if these are provided by the Employer, but can also mean decreased work performance, lower productivity and a lower quality of product or service. With regard to addiction as a health and safety risk, the primary responsibility rests on the Employer. S118 of the Labour Act 2003 places a greater emphasis on those who manage workplaces to be proactive in managing hazards that arise from work processes. This performance-based approach means that Managers must

carefully identify and consider all the occupational risks faced by those in their enterprises. Alcohol and Drug using or addicted employees are a physical hazard. They create huge work organisational issues. What You Can Do

Write a solid health and safety policy to include your organisations zerotolerance approach to alcohol and drug use and abuse. Implement it through thoroughly researched and fail safe procedures and work place rules. Provide training to Managers to help them detect Drug and Alcohol impairment. Introduce training programmes so that Employees are made aware of the effects of drug use and abuse. Start Workplace drug testing for non-prescribed drugs, stimulants and alcohol where you have a reasonable suspicion of use or abuse.

Special Note on Drug Testing;

Drug testing can be seen as an invasion of personal privacy, it raises human rights and privacy issues so be careful to take account of this in your policy and get the Employees written consent. Drug tests do not detect abuse, merely use. Drug tests do not measure impairment or whether someone was impaired at the time the sample was taken, nor do they indicate when a drug was used, or how much was used. Drug tests merely identify the past use of drugs.

Let me remind everyone that the time of year is ap