The management of drug and alcohol problems
[ch 3: page 29]PCS says that policies should support, not discipline, and the HSE is clear that employers should, as far as possible, treat drug misuse as a health issue rather than an immediate cause for dismissal or disciplinary action. Acas advice to managers dealing with an employee with alcohol or drug problems is as follows:
• keep accurate, confidential records of instances of poor performance or other problems;
• interview the worker in private;
• concentrate on the instances of poor performance that have been identified;
• ask for the worker’s reasons for poor performance and question whether it could be due to a “health” problem, without specifically mentioning alcohol or drugs in the first instance;
• if appropriate discuss the organisation’s alcohol and drugs policy and the help available inside or outside the organisation;
• agree future action; and
• arrange regular meetings to monitor progress and discuss any further problems if they arise.