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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 atWork; 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 ischoice 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 takethe 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 theaddict 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 theEmployer, If the Employee is found on medical examination to be unfit foremployment , 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. Ibelieve 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 LabourAct 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, butalso 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 andmuscles, body movements associated with mental activity, and co-ordination. Thisusually 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 greateremphasis on those who manage workplaces to be proactive in managing hazards that

arise from work processes. This performance-based approach means that Managers must

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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 zero-

tolerance approach to alcohol and drug use and abuse.

Implement it through thoroughly researched and fail safe procedures and workplace 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