Being caught with 15g of cocaine was the best thing that could have happened to me are the words directly from a tradesman in Cairns working in remote communities that had been spiraling with drug use. He was stopped as part of a drug and alcohol testing operation and tested negative to alcohol testing but his drug test indicated cannabis and cocaine in his system (source Cairns post).
What if you currently have an employee in exactly the same situation? What risks are they putting themselves at, other employees at and exposing you personally to and your business?
Workplace health and safety laws are largely uniform across Australia but there are no specific provisions regarding how and in what way alcohol and drug testing should be conducted. While many workplaces are introducing testing, randomly, based on suspicion or if a safety incident occurs there are still many who aren’t.
Regular testing fosters support and safety within your workplace. Alcohol and drug abuse is becoming more prevalent and really must be considered if not already in place. Employers, managers, HR and safety personal have every right to be concerned about how usage impacts the performance of employees and more importantly the potential risks they could be exposing others to.
How do you introduce workplace testing?
Often a concern of employers in introducing workplace testing is how they can ask for consent from their employees. The best way forward is to introduce a policy that is adopted as a collective agreement by all (if you don’t have one already in place). At Alcolizer Technology our team is experienced in assisting with all facets of alcohol and drug testing in the workplace and can assist in getting you started. A complete alcohol and drug solution that is customisable specifically to your safety requirements, staff size and budget. If you’d like to know more about how we can help introduce testing into your workplace click here to get in touch.
What about Employee Privacy?
When employees undergo mandatory testing it also raises various privacy-related concerns particularly in collecting their information. When commencing random testing it’s essential policies and procedures are in place to help guide the process with clear communication in advance. Ensuring you advise how the information will be recorded, what impacts a positive result will have and their rights are all aspects to consider.
To address the evolving needs of our customers we have continued to innovate our workplace testing including enhancing efficiencies. Our AlcoCONNECT™ platform facilitates real-time analysis of drug and alcohol testing data, enabling businesses to effectively monitor workplace safety from anywhere in the world.
By automating data collection and analysis through AlcoCONNECT clients reduce manual reporting efforts, improve decision-making, and quickly identify trends in safety performance. Click to continue reading about our AlcoConnect platform.
