This insight is a round up of our Roundtable discussion at the HSE EU Congress 2019 in Portugal. In this roundtable, Lianne Gray started a discussion around substance misuse in the workplace, and the impact of this.
Read on for an overview of this session.
It’s been reported that up to 3 million workers in the UK (3% of the total UK workforce) go to work under the influence of substances annually.
In 2018 UKAT (UK Addiction Treatment) revealed statistics showing 40% of industrial accidents are inked to substance misuse.
Employers have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to uphold the health, safety and welfare at work of your employees. There is also a requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, to assess the risks to the health and safety of employees.
Employers could be breaking the law if they knowingly allow drug-related activities in their workplace and they fail to act. It is just as important to know the implications to both the employees and business of not tackling drug misuse, particularly where safety is involved. Employees are also responsible for taking reasonable care of themselves and others who could be affected by what they do at work (Health and Safety Executive).
Substance abuse covers a range of mind-altering substances from illegal drugs, for example, cannabis and cocaine to legal drugs such as alcohol and prescription drugs. It is defined as continued misuse that affects a person’s physical and mental health, social situations and responsibilities
The hard facts :
- 70% of substance abusers are in full-time employment.
- 60% of poor job performance is directly associated with substance misuse.
- 15% of workers are occasionally under the influence of alcohol at work
- 60% of adults know someone who has gone to work under the influence of drugs
- 3 million employees will go to work under the influence of drugs
- 83% of employees who have had a hangover at work admit that it has negatively affected their performance
- The estimated annual cost of drug and alcohol misuse to UK businesses is a staggering £36 billion
Successfully tackling drug misuse can benefit both businesses and employees by:
- Reducing the cost of absenteeism or impaired productivity;
- Creating a more productive environment by offering support to those employees who declare a drug-related problem so, therefore, improving employee morale
- Reducing the risk of accidents caused by impaired judgement
- Enhancing the public perception of your organisation as a responsible employer
Best practice is for organisations to adopt an overarching substance misuse policy, in consultation with their staff and should aim to support and work with employees. Getting the support of a workforce for any change in company policies and procedures is much easier if staff or their representatives are included in the process of doing so through appropriate education packages.
Even if there is no evidence of current drug misuse, it is always good practice to have a policy that will enable employers to deal with any problems that could potentially arise in the future.
