Testing your staff for alcohol and drugs is a vital part of running a transport operation. What’s the best way to go about doing it if you’re to treat it with the degree of seriousness it undoubtedly warrants?
Ensuring that your staff are fit for work is a major responsibility, and among the most common reasons why they may not be is consumption of alcohol or drugs.
The signs may be obvious when an employee has taken either, but that’s not guaranteed. And merely suspecting that they have consumed alcohol or drugs isn’t enough. You need a written policy and the correct testing equipment.
Arguably, the policy document is the most important element of testing staff, says Claire Hopper, National Sales and Training Manager at AlcoDigital.
AlcoDigital recently held an event that was attended by delegates from various organisations in the transport sector, and there is evidently a problem in some parts of it.
“The frequency of alcohol or drug test failures is frightening,” says one individual. “When we recruit agency staff, it can be as high as 50%.”
Testing applicants at the interview stage is a way to weed out those that could cause harm to your business, but the best way of ongoing monitoring is via random tests, says Ms Hopper. That demonstrates that you take a strong line on the subject.
The only exception to random testing should be when there is suspicion of impairment, or after an accident involving one of your vehicles. In the latter case, conduct a test as soon as possible for the protection of all parties involved.
Policy document required
The police need concrete evidence of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs to prosecute, but companies are required to satisfy the less onerous balance of probabilities. Nevertheless, the testing process should be taken very seriously.
“There must be a defined policy in place, signed by the employee,” says Ms Hopper. “In the case of alcohol, there should be a stated figure above which action will be taken. Writing that the employee is impaired or under the influence is not good enough.”
In England and Wales, 35 microgrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100ml of breath is the legal limit for driving. In Scotland, that reduces to 22mg, but AlcoDigital recommends that an employer’s stated maximum for staff is considerably lower – although not zero.
“9mg per 100ml of breath is a worthy limit to say that alcohol has been consumed, although any reading is cause for concern. Even at 9mg, it has been proved that people cannot function at their best.”
Carrying out testing for alcohol should be done using two breathalysers. AlcoDigital can supply both; a passive one, for initial use, and a Home Office approved example.
The former is a simple device. It entails the employee blowing into an opening without touching the unit, which then displays a red or a green light.
If red is displayed, things should proceed to the Home Office-approved breathalyser, which is compatible with a wireless printer. Two tests with it, 20 minutes apart, are required to avoid the argument of mouthwash use.
Home Office approval is important; without it, a dismissal for alcohol consumption may come under scrutiny at an employment tribunal. Both breathalysers must be calibrated at pre-set intervals.
Refusal to carry out a test for alcohol or drugs must be written into the policy as constituting gross misconduct, Ms Hopper adds.
Drug testing important, too
Although alcohol may dominate an operator’s thoughts when it comes to employees’ fitness for work, AlcoDigital says that it’s equally important to consider drug use. “Testing for alcohol is straightforward. With drug testing, complications may come via prescription medicine,” says Ms Hopper.
Various drug testing methods are available. All have pros and cons; some are easily tampered with and some are invasive. Usually considered the best is obtaining a saliva specimen.
Saliva can be evaluated immediately, and if the sample is positive for any drug, a qualified tester will be dispatched quickly as part of a company’s agreement with AlcoDigital.
The implications of medicine use can be tricky. Employers have two options; ignore the positive result if a relevant prescription can be produced by the employee, or require them to declare all such medication in advance. Failure to do the latter could, in extremis, be deemed gross misconduct.
“A policy is also required for drug use. Do not name substances; wording should state ‘illegal drugs’. It should also state that they are in the employee’s system, rather than define when they were consumed.”
Random testing for both alcohol and drugs, she reaffirms, is the best way to send a message to employees. “It’s a deterrent that works, but it needs to encompass everyone. It should include staff the Managing Director downwards.”
routeone comment
The expense of testing staff for alcohol and drugs may be a worry, but the reputational damage of an accident involving one of your vehicles when the driver is found to be under the influence would make it pale into insignificance.
But what should you do if a loyal, long-serving employee fails a test? It’s a difficult question to answer, but AlcoDigital’s Claire Hopper says that, in the case of a one-off, dismissal is not always the only option. Helping them may be a better bet in the long term.
There’s a lot to think about, but the days where a few drinks the evening before an early start were considered acceptable have gone. You simply cannot allow your business to be impacted by a case of drink- or drug-driving.
