Some workplace managers and owners spend the whole of the festive season feeling worried. Worried that one of their employees is going to come to work after a party, still under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and have an accident. Well, it’s time to stop worrying and set a New Year’s resolution that you can follow through on – implement drug and alcohol testing in your workplace in 2021.
While most resolutions are best done as soon as possible, however, if you are going to implement drug and alcohol testing there are a few things you need to get in place first.
Drug and alcohol policy
First and foremost, develop a drug and alcohol policy. You’ll find plenty of information about these policies in our blogs, but suffice to say that it needs to be detailed and robust. Every aspect needs to be written in the policy, including your aims, the testing you’ll carry out, the procedures that you’ll follow when someone fails a test and how you will communicate the policy to your employees.
Education
Educating your employees about your drug and alcohol policy is vital, for several reasons.
For a start, you’ll want to get their support for the policy and the introduction of the drug and alcohol testing. This might seem a difficult sell at first, but remember the reasons why you want to implement the testing in the first place – safety. It’s not likely to be you or an office worker that gets hurt or killed if someone comes to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Managing drugs and alcohol in the workplace is definitely in the best interests of employees on the shop floor.
The other main reason for education your employees about your drug and alcohol policy is so that they know what’s included in the policy. They’ll then be more likely to do the right thing and not come to work under the influence.
Remember, too, while providing education about your drug and alcohol policy to include information about the dangers of drugs and alcohol in the workplace. For example, some people don’t understand that you can still be over the legal limit and unsafe to work after a big session of drinking alcohol the night before.
Assistance and support
What will you do when a person fails drug and alcohol testing? What will you do if an employee comes to you after an education session and tells you they have an issue with drugs or alcohol?
Providing support for your employees around drug and alcohol issues is also important. For many small businesses, this doesn’t mean they need to provide this support internally. Having access to off-site support can take care of this and help valued employees with any issues they may have.
More support
Implementing drug and alcohol testing isn’t easy or quick, but there is one company you can call on to help you every step of the way and that’s Integrity Sampling. While drug and alcohol testing is our bread and butter, we can also help businesses develop their drug and alcohol policies and provide education for employees.
All you need to do is pick up the phone and dial 1300 725 482. We’ll help you with the rest.
IMAGE CAPTION:
Thinking of introducing drug and alcohol testing in your workplace in 2021? That’s a good New Year’s resolution. Credit Miroslav Vajdic https://www.flickr.com/photos/miroslav-vajdic/33476663014/