Why make a voluntary alcohol breath test at work, what are the benefits and who should partake?
The aim of the voluntary alcohol breath test is to bring employees and employers together in a unified proactive effort to help protect people from the results of accidents and fatalities caused by the effects of alcohol in the work place. The system is designed specifically as a preventative measure to be adopted voluntarily by all employees at all levels.
What is an alcohol breath test?
An alcohol breath test or breathalyser measures the level of alcohol in the breath and this correlates directly to the amount of alcohol in the blood.
The Purpose of the D-CaT:2007 system – alcohol breath test
The purpose is to identify employees who are not in a fit state to carry out their duties under the terms of their contract and the employment act (please refer to the section on the legal aspect) but not to penalise employees that record a fail in the test, in fact there is no recommendation from the programme to take any action other than removing the apparent danger at the time of testing. This approach ensures that the aim remains focused at all times on the protection and safety of employees and those around them therefore this is a prevention method.
Alcohol in the UK
Alcohol is endemic in UK culture and in recent years has figured as a major contributor to accidents and fatalities caused by underage drinkers and adolescents drinking excessively. Because it is virtually impossible to predict where and when a person may have an alcoholic drink or drink to excess and whether a person will habitually drink before work the test is designed to be readily available therefore the system has been designed for standalone use without batteries or associated powered devices. It is a single use system that requires no additional equipment to operate it or produce the final results therefore it can be administered quickly and easily providing immediate results. No secondary examination is necessary.
The case for Voluntary Testing
It is important that a company operating this system does so from the correct perspective. This means that the company should be aware that the programme is about removing the threat of alcohol related accidents and not about penalising employees who fail the test. This is quite critical as the system should be operated with the consent of employees who will take the test on a voluntary basis (please refer to the section on testing) as this demonstrates their positive commitment to a safer working environment. Furthermore it is important that employees should clearly understand the goals of a company using the system and this should be done so in a clear written format to all employees with a permanent statement provided perhaps in the area where the test takes place.
The focus of the test
The most important message of the programme is the protection of people against the results of alcohol. The test objectivity is about identifying the risk areas and it is important this should be understood as a test fail may not always be a sinister result. This is necessary because in some cases it may be that an employee fails the test as a result of a previous night’s celebration and though the individual has slept and appears in full control of their faculties the alcohol may still be present in the body. The secondary issue is the economic cost to institute such a programme and maintain it on a daily basis. The D-CaT:2007 system can be quickly established subject to an organisation’s internal structure. The system costs are around £0.99 per day per user making the programme a cost effective preventative method. In fact the relative cost between prevention and result are substantial; this can be equated in terms of a £250,000.00 court settlement which represents more than 100 employees tested every working day for ten years, thus the focus remains entirely on the identification of an alcohol issue.
Positive action by the employer
The testing system should be viewed as a company’s positive action towards accident prevention, without consideration to the overall performance and economic benefits. By adopting the system a company will demonstrate its commitment to identifying and minimising risks from alcohol related incidents in the work place and perhaps as important, if a company operates in the public sector it demonstrates its commitment to identifying and minimising the risks to the public
Positive action by the employee
The system is designed as a safe guard for employees and to empower them to ensure they are protected from entering a work area or environment where their condition may result in an accident or fatality to themselves or others. The long term effects of which could be permanent loss of employment or imprisonment.
Alcohol related facts
It is important to realise that alcohol currently a major contributory factor to accidents and death in the UK. A simple analysis of the results of a fatality from an alcohol related incident may read as follows:
The Perpetrator:
May be fined or imprisoned as a result of his/her actions resulting in loss of income in the immediate future and perhaps long term. The results of this means any dependants of the perpetrator are now suffering as a direct result of their actions.
The Victim:
Presuming the victim has a family and dependants; the immediate family will suffer the trauma of coming to terms with the loss of a loved one, the dependants will suffer as a result of the loss both financially and emotionally. A human being is irreplaceable within the context of their family.
Counting the cost of alcohol related accidents
The International Labour Organisation states “in many workplaces, 20 to 25 per cent of accidents at work involve intoxicated people injuring themselves and innocent victims”.
Source: ILO
The TSSA states “Problems created in the workplace as a result of alcohol include:
Absenteeism, costing an estimated £2 billion a year to industry is strongly related to occasional excessive or inappropriate drinking. Performance and productivity are affected by employees under-performing due to the influence of drink or being hung over. It may take longer than one day to recover from a heavy binge. Accidents with alcohol as a contributory factor are estimated to comprise 20-25% of all workplace accidents. With drinking impairing concentration, judgement and co-ordination, accidents can affect the drinker and those around them. Employers have legal responsibilities regarding the safety of employees and, where relevant, the general public. The loss of staff and costs of recruitment escalate when employers need to replace experienced and trained staff. It is usually more effective to retain existing staff, if possible, by supporting them in dealing with their problems than to incur the cost of recruiting and training new staff”.
Source: http://www.tssa.org.uk/article-47.php3?id_article=1008
The legal aspect
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. They must ensure that employees do not injure themselves or endanger the public or colleagues. This has particular relevance to alcohol and the use of machinery or vehicles. The Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that any person driving, or attempting to drive, a motor vehicle whilst unfit to drive through alcohol use can be prosecuted under this act. This includes driving as part of work related duties. The Transport and Works Act 1992 states that it is a criminal offence for certain employees to be unfit through alcohol use whilst working on transport systems such as railways. The operators of the system would be liable if they had been negligent in their duty to prevent the offence occurring. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 employers have a duty to assess the risks to the health and safety of their employees. Knowingly allowing an employee to continue working when affected by alcohol and where their behaviour places the employee or other colleagues at risk could make an employer liable to prosecution. Employees should also take reasonable care of themselves and others who could be affected by their actions at work.
Occupations typically at higher risk
Alcohol Concern has reported that statistically, certain occupations show a higher incidence of alcohol-related deaths than others. Obvious reasons for higher levels of drinking may include the ready availability of alcohol, high levels of occupational stress or as in some working cultures, social pressure to drink.
Those occupational sectors reporting the highest consumption of more than 14 (for women) or 21 (for men) units of alcohol per week (occupation with the highest level first) were:
Women: security, arts & sport, professional (other), professional (science), managerial, clerical, transport. Men: construction, arts & sport, professional (other), assembly workers, metal & electrical, managerial.
Men from any level or income group may develop alcohol problems, though those earning under £100 or over £500 weekly appear slightly more vulnerable. Among women, those working full-time in professional or managerial posts are most likely to develop problems.
Likely underlying reasons for excessive alcohol consumption at work
Alcohol problems sometimes stem from an attempt to cope with underlying problems such as stress, relationship difficulties or depression. The result can often be that these problems are then exacerbated by drinking and the alcohol use itself becomes a problem.
In the case of an employee experiencing an alcohol problem, this could also be linked to workplace stress or an organizational culture that encourages or tolerates heavy drinking. Employees often use drinking as a way of socializing or bonding whilst some employers traditionally use or include drinking in the process of doing business, e.g. via working lunches.
Workplace alcohol policies
Alcohol policies are fundamental in helping to tackle alcohol-related problems at work. Alcohol problems in the workplace should be viewed as a health issue, and an alcohol policy should be located in, or linked to one or more of an organisation’s procedures on managing health and safety as well as personnel and/or general management issues.
An alcohol policy will be more successful if supported by a programme of training that raises alcohol awareness and supports managers in its application. Employers often have a parallel or combined policy to address drug misuse.
Key principles of an alcohol policy for the workplace
An effective workplace alcohol policy should:
clarify that an employer has a legitimate interest in an employee’s life outside work when it affects their own or others’ performance, health or safety; regard an alcohol problem as a health problem rather than being an immediate cause for discipline or dismissal; be a clear statement of intent agreed by employers and trade union representatives; be clearly understood by and apply equally to everyone in an organisation; clearly delineate responsibility and give guidance to managers on procedures to follow, signalling when disciplinary action, if appropriate, should be instigated; establish procedures for referring an employee with alcohol problems to in-house support or outside specialist services; clarify rules of confidentiality in order to encourage staff or colleagues to come forward; ensure managers receive appropriate training to implement the policy; be publicised at regular intervals to staff; and be reviewed regularly, probably every 12 months.
Helping employees with alcohol problems
There can be signs suggestive of alcohol related problems, although care should be taken as these could be due to underlying health problems such as stress or depression. Signs of possible alcohol problems in an employee may include:
Work performance, including missed appointments or deadlines, increased error rate, poor concentration, unreliability or an inability to remember instructions. Attendance, including lateness in the mornings or after lunch, unauthorised leave, patterns of absence (e.g. after weekends), recurring causes of absence. Conduct, such as withdrawal, depression, anxiety, poor co-operation, mood changes, uncharacteristic behaviour, accidents, alcohol on the breath, customer complaints.
It is important to keep in mind that an employee’s alcohol use can often affect other staff, either by increasing their workload or their stress levels as a result of trying to cover up for a colleague who is drinking inappropriately or to excess.
Alcohol problems should be regarded primarily as health issues rather than an immediate cause for discipline and negotiators should encourage employers to reflect this in any workplace policy. This will encourage staff with problems to come forward and decrease the likelihood of collusion by colleagues not wishing to ’get someone into trouble’.
Getting specialist help
Some larger employers or blue chip companies will have an occupational health department or employee assistance programme that may include an in-house counselling service with expertise in alcohol problems.
Alternatively, individuals might be encouraged to approach their GP or seek to be referred to a community alcohol service, or attend Alcoholics Anonymous, an abstinence-based self-help group. In-patient detoxification and residential treatment facilities may also be available although normally these would be through referral following a full assessment.
Testing
Testing employees or potential employees for alcohol remains controversial, raising both industrial relations and civil liberties issues.
Whilst it is reasonable to expect employees to be unimpaired by alcohol whilst at work, it could be argued that requiring an employee to undergo a test ’without cause’ (randomly or without specific evidence that they are impaired) is unfair and intrusive.
In this context, the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act, particularly Article 8 concerning an individual’s right to privacy, have implications for employers.
Under UK law, employers’ have a responsibility to demonstrate ’due diligence’ (take reasonable care) to prevent an offence if an employee’s ability to work safely is impaired. This need to actively prevent alcohol or drug-related accidents has led companies in the transport sector to introduce testing to prevent employees’ substance use in the workplace. Industries with staff in ’safety critical’ roles, using machinery for instance, do test employees for alcohol.
Methods of testing
Alcohol testing indicates whether an individual is under the influence at that time.
Alcohol use can be tested in several ways:
Breath testing; a ’breathalyser’ measures the level of alcohol in the breath. This is both convenient and inexpensive.
Blood testing; is by means of a blood test although this is more invasive than a breath test. It is often inappropriate in a workplace setting due to lack of staff suitably trained to take samples.
Drink and work - a dangerous cocktail
The recent report entitled A potent cocktail was the TUC’s response to a wide-ranging trawl being undertaken by the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health for ideas on how to tackle the issue of alcohol in the workplace.
To illustrate the extent of the problem, the TUC submission refers to a recent Alcohol Concern survey which showed that almost two-thirds of employers (60%) were experiencing problems as a result of staff boozing.
As not enough is understood about the effects of drink on the workplace, the TUC is calling on the government to fund more research into what is becoming a growing problem. It also points to an increase in factors such as stress, bullying, long hours, working away from home and an office culture which can all lead to individual workers consuming more alcohol than is good for them.
A potent cocktail suggests a number of ways that the government, employers and unions might tackle the drink/work issue:
The government should fund research looking at the extent of the misuse of alcohol by individuals at work, its effect on the workplace and its cost to the nation. The government could also provide financial incentives for those employers offering counselling and other types of employee assistance programmes to encourage more workers to come forward and admit or acknowledge their alcohol problems. Employers who don’t have alcohol policies should draw them up in consultation with unions in the workplace. Policies should cover such topics as tackling the causes of excessive drinking, confidentiality, counselling, screening, testing and occupational health services.
Much of the above information was provided by Alcohol Concern, the national voluntary agency dealing with alcohol misuse. Alcohol Concern is at:
www.alcoholconcern.org.uk.
The above is meant to give a comprehensive view of the need for a voluntary alcohol breath test system and none of the above statements should be considered as an authoritative statement on law
