How to manage drugs and alcohol in your hospitality business.

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

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Drugs and alcohol can have a big impact on health and safety at work, especially in hospitality. It's important for employers to manage this so everyone stays safe. The law says employers must protect workers and others from risks to their health and safety, including from drugs and alcohol.

In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 set out what employers need to do. They should assess the risks in their workplace and take steps to control them. This includes having clear policies on drugs and alcohol.

In the US, the Drug-Free Workplace Act 1988 says federal contractors and employers getting federal grants must have drug-free workplace programmes. Plus, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has rules about alcohol addiction and recovering drug addicts at work.

So, it's key for hospitality businesses to include drugs and alcohol in their health and safety policies. This helps keep everyone safe and follows the law. A good policy covers things like not allowing drugs or alcohol at work, what happens if someone seems impaired, and supporting staff who have problems.

Drugs and Alcohol Arrangements

Recognise the potential dangers of alcohol, drugs, and solvent abuse, known as substance abuse, to both the individual and the business. Aim to prevent, where possible, alcohol, drug, and solvent abuse amongst employees and to detect at an early stage employees with problems.

  • •Responsible Persons should liaise with employees as part of the development process of your drugs and alcohol policy, so there is a transparent approach and ensure all parties understand the risks to themselves, the business, and the requirement for a policy to manage this issue.
  • •Develop the policy and implement it across the business.
  • •Resources identified as required when developing the policy will be made available for the successful rollout of the policy.
  • •Employees should be provided with training and instruction to generate awareness. Part of this training will be on the wording of the policy and instruction not to report to work impaired by alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription drugs.
  • •The policy should provide senior management with protocols to take in the event an employee is suspected to be affected by either drugs or alcohol, i.e., any employee reporting to work impaired by drugs and/or alcohol will be subject to the company disciplinary procedure, which could lead to dismissal.
  • •Where possible, aid employees admitting to a drug or alcohol problem, such as leave of absence from work if required for treatment. There may be circumstances when this offer may not be appropriate, and senior management must assess each case individually.
  • •Monitor and review policy and protocols to measure effectiveness and to continually improve the management of substance abuse within the business and the hospitality industry as a whole.

Note: Prescription drugs are permitted to be taken during working hours only if they have been deemed safe to do so by a competent doctor and the prescription drugs do not affect the employee’s ability to carry out their work safely. Employees must inform supervisors/managers when taking prescription drugs that may alter their behavior or physical/mental ability before starting work.