Preventing workplace impairment

Workplace impairment encompasses drug and alcohol use, noise, fatigue, stress and many other physical and mental factors—and increases the chances of a serious workplace incident. So, what can employers do to mitigate risks?

It’s every employer’s worst nightmare: a workplace incident as the result of employee impairment. Plumbing is an industry that relies on its tradespeople to be switched on, physically agile and able to work long, dedicated hours—so, it’s important that employers and staff understand what workplace impairment is and how to help prevent potential incidents.

What is workplace impairment? Impairment can be caused by a number of factors—the most obvious being drug and alcohol use on the worksite, or outside of work hours. WorkSafe lists the following as other causes of impairment: fatigue, distractions, noise, health conditions and stress.

Whatever the cause, employee impairment can be detrimental to the employee-employer relationship, and AUTHOR: KERRIE MORGAN

to the health and wellbeing of all staff. It affects decision making, risk taking, communication, relationships and general wellbeing. In fact, impairment in the workplace can cause serious incidents which may injure or even be fatal.

Company protocols and support The only way to step in and stop physical or mental impairment as it is happening is for everyone in the team to recognise the signs and understand the company protocols around reporting and supporting that person.

Company policies around drugs and alcohol, risk management and wellbeing should be crystal clear and employees should feel they can speak to their line manager, another company manager, or an HR person should they be suffering in any way that might impair their work. Drug and alcohol impairment The 2020 cannabis referendum prompted many employers to voice concerns around what would happen in their places of work should the drug become legalised.

By law, employees and employers both have a duty to ensure their workplace is safe. This includes protecting employees from dangerous behaviour as a result of drug use, whether that drug is legal or not.

Your company should have clear expectations and policies around drug and alcohol use, which every employee should be aware of and understand before commencing work. This policy should include what the consequences will be if someone turns up to a job site impaired by alcohol or drugs.

If you have reason to believe that an employee is using recreational drugs

on weekends or during work hours, taking action can be tricky. Accusing an employee of using drugs, or being impaired by drug use, is a serious accusation and can result in a difficult situation for everyone involved. It’s also important to determine if a drug-using employee has a problem and needs help—and this can be done through open conversation, with a focus on support.

If you’re unsure how to handle a certain situation or you need help dealing with it, always seek legal advice. Seeking legal advice and approaching the situation cautiously is the best way to cover yourself, your company and the employee.

Drug test considerations Your company’s drug and alcohol policy might also include regular drug testing, which can be effective in minimising, or even eliminating, risk caused by drug and alcohol impairment in safety sensitive industries, such as plumbing.

However, before you start any sort of testing in your business, it is of utmost importance to get your company drug and alcohol policies, guidelines and legal obligations correct and clear. Again, employing a legal expert to help should be a priority.

There are four occasions when it is considered reasonable to implement workplace drug testing and it’s important to understand your legal obligations as an employer before carrying out any of these tests: pre-employment when an employer has reasonable cause to believe an employee is using drugs or alcohol post-incident random.

All drug testing should be carried out by specialist staff from an independent accredited drug testing company. A rise in doit-yourself workplace drug tests has seen innocent employees unfairly dismissed, drug users go undetected (resulting in workplace incidents) and expensive court cases costing employers tens of thousands of dollars.

If a non-negative/positive result is received (or if an employee refuses to comply with reasonable testing in accordance with their employee obligations), the next step is to decide what disciplinary action, if any, will be taken. If disciplinary action is taken, it is absolutely crucial to adhere to your company drug and alcohol and/or disciplinary policy. It’s at this point that many a case has come unstuck due to failure to implement a policy or get proper legal advice.

Other types of impairment As mentioned, impairment can be caused by a number of factors and while we’ve focussed mainly on drug and alcohol impairment here, it’s important to recognise and understand the other causes. It’s no secret mental health, including stress, plays a huge role in an employee’s (and employer’s) general wellbeing and can affect decision making, physical functionality, mood, memory, energy levels and sleep—all of which can, in turn, lead to impairment at work.

A staff member’s circumstances outside of the office can also affect their ability to work safely and adequately. It’s important to be aware of changes in an employee’s behaviour and be able to approach them and have an open conversation if you think something might be affecting them mentally or physically.

With the right policies in place, legal assistance should you require it, and good rapport with employees and workmates, the risk of impairment in the workplace can be significantly reduced.

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