With the constant media attention on drugs in our society, if you are a business owner or manager in Victoria you could be forgiven for feeling nervous about whether your employees are safe to be at work. While there is regular bad news focussing on drugs, the good news is that random drug testing, and a robust and transparent drug and alcohol management plan, can help protect your Victorian business from the scourge of drugs.
Why you may be worried about drug use
There is plenty to be concerned about if you are a business owner in Victoria, with research showing:
- It can take many hours and sometimes days to recover from using drugs like ICE, cocaine and ecstasy, so an employee who uses drugs on the weekend many still be unsafe to work on Monday.
- It’s not just illicit drugs that are a concern, with a rise in incidences of people misusing prescription drugs either inadvertently or deliberately. A person who has misused a prescription drug may be unsafe to work as the symptoms, in many cases, are similar to the symptoms experienced by users of illegal drugs.
- Drugs and alcohol cost Australian business around $6 billion each year.
- In a recent Global Drug Survey, from a poll of just under 6000 Australians, one-third of full-time employees admitted to taking drugs or alcohol a short time before starting work.
What you can do, including random drug testing, to protect your business
Conducting random drug testing in your Victorian workplace, to detect people who may be unsafe to work, can help protect your business from the scourge of drug use, however, it shouldn’t be your only form of defence.
Random drug testing, along with other drug testing methodologies such as pre-employment, cause and incident drug testing, should be implemented under a robust drug and alcohol management plan. A management plan that provides specific and full details on how your Victorian business will tackle drugs and alcohol, including support for employees and, most importantly, education. After all, your prime goal is not to catch employees with drugs in their system but to educate them on the dangers of drugs and the importance of coming to work in a safe condition.
If you are a Victorian business owner or manager, are concerned about the impact of drugs in your workplace and want to conduct random drug testing, see our drug and alcohol policies and procedures page.
