HSPOL11 Managing Drug Alcohol Policy V5 by Provide Community

Managing Drugs and Alcohol Policy

Version: V5

Ratified by: Finance and Investment Committee

Date ratified: 25/05/2022

Job Title of author:

Reviewed by Committee or Expert Group

Equality Impact Assessed by:

1. Introduction

Provide is interested in the health and well-being of all employees, and is concerned with any use of alcohol or drugs that might affect:

• The health and safety of employees, clients or members of the public

• The employee’s work performance or attendance

• The organisation’s public image

This policy is provided as guidance for managers and employees where the use of alcohol and drugs affects health and/or performance or attendance at work is affected.

Provide recognises that problem drinking and drug dependency are health problems which can respond to treatment. There is good evidence that problem drinkers and those who are dependent on drugs can be helped, and that their chances are increased by early diagnosis and referral for treatment. The procedure outlined in this policy aims to provide a mechanism whereby individuals can receive help and support. As far as is reasonably practicable the same provisions and allowances for treatment will be made as for any other health problem.

2. Purpose

o set out conditions for the use of alcohol and drugs by staff on premises.

To ensure the availability to staff and managers of appropriate advice, information, education and training on all matters relating to alcohol and drug abuse, where circumstances require.

To alert employees to the risk associated with alcohol and drug abuse and to promote a change of attitude and behaviour.

To encourage and assist employees who suspect or know they have an alcohol or drug problem to seek help and support, as far as is practical, those staff who either have a personal drugs issue or whose lives are affected by the drug or alcohol issue of a partner or relative or friend

Where it is suspected that an alcohol or drug problems exists, to encourage managers to refer employees, with his/her consent, to an appropriate agencyforassessment help and / or treatment.

Make it known to all staff that the non-medical use of drugs on premises is not permitted.

3. Definitions

Drug Use

No employee or other person under the organisation's control (See Section 4) shall, in connection with any work-related activity:

Alcohol Consumption

It is not permitted for staff to drink, smell ofalcohol, or be under the influence of alcohol, including on celebratory occasions or national holidays, whilst on duty or on organisational premises

4. Duties

There will be other occasions when staff from other organisations are working under the management of the organisation. Those individuals will be covered by their own organisation’s policies. However, whilst on premises they will be expected to comply with the requirements of this policy.

5. Consultation and Communication

The policy applies to all staff working within or on behalf of the organisation whether they are paid or unpaid, volunteers, students on placement, secondee’s, contractors and sub-contractors

6. Monitoring

In order to maintain a professional image, each member of staff has a personal responsibility to retain sobriety whilst on duty (including on- call/stand by), and at all times ensure the safety of service users, colleagues and members of the public.

7. The Legal Position

Provide has a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and welfare at work of its employees. It also has a duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, to assess the risks to the health and safety of its employees.

Provide may be subject to prosecution, if it knowingly allows an employee under the influence of alcohol or drug misuse to continue working and/or their behaviour places the employee or others at risk. Employees are required to take reasonable care of themselves and others who would be affected by what they do at work.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that any person who, when driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, is unfit to drive through alcohol or drugs shall be guilty of an offence.

The principal legislation in the UK for controlling the misuse of drugs is the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The majority of drugs with misuse and/or dependence liability are covered by it. The Actmakesthe production, supply and possession of these controlled drugs unlawful except in certain circumstances (for example, when they have been prescribed by a doctor).

8. Expected Standards

Drug Use

No employee or other person under the organisation's control (See Section 4) shall, in connection with any work-related activity:

• report, or endeavour to report, for duty having consumed drugs likely to render him/her unfit and/or unsafe for work

• consume or be under the influence of such drugs while on duty

• store non-prescription drugs in personal areas such as lockers and desk drawers

• attempt to sell or give illegal or prescription only drugs to any other employee or other person on the company premises.

Employees must inform their line manager regarding any prescribed medication that may have an effect on their ability to carry out their work safely, and must follow any instructions subsequently given.

Any employee suffering from drug dependency should declare such dependency, and the Company will subsequently provide reasonable assistance, treating absences for treatment and/or rehabilitation as any other sickness absence. Failure to accept help or continue with treatment may render the employee liable to become subject to Provide’s Disciplinary (HRPOL14) or Capability Policy (HRPOL29).

Staff are not permitted to be in possession, under the influence of, deal in or take non prescribed drugs within classes A, B or C in the workplace. A list of these drugs can be obtained from the Head of Medicines Management.

Any breach of these standards will result in Disciplinary Policy and Procedure (HRPOL14) being applied

All staff must advise their line manager if they are charged with and/or convicted of a drugs offence. If the line manager is not informed further action may be taken under the relevant organisational policy.

Convictions of staff for drug offences can undermine the public’s confidence in the services we provide. Consequently, the employment of any member of staff is at risk if they are convicted of a drugs offence.

Any recognised drug problem will be treated in strict confidence, subject to the provisions of the law.

Alcohol Consumption

It is not permitted for staff to drink, smell ofalcohol, or be under the influence of alcohol, including on celebratory occasions or national holidays, whilst on duty or on organisational premises

It is not permitted for staff to drink alcohol in a public place whilst wearing a Provide identification badge or uniform.

Alcohol consumption during meal breaks and before coming to work is not permitted. Staff should also be mindful if drinking the night prior to work, as they may be over the legal alcohol consumption limit the following morning.

For the purposes of this policy being intoxicated can include the smell of alcohol on an individual’s breath.

When an individual is on call, and may be required to drive or deal with work related issues they will be covered by this policy in the same way as though they were at work.

Any breach of these standards may result in Disciplinary Policy (HRPOL14) being implemented

9. Recognition of possible alcohol, drugs and other substance misuse

Managers may recognise a problem by a changing attitude to work by an employee who may be evidenced in one or more of the following:

• unpunctuality, patterns of short term absence, slower work rate, deterioration in standard of dress, slower reactions, increasing inaccuracy/errors, memory loss, slurred speech, breath odour , mood changes, depression and/or poor cooperation with colleagues.

The misuse of alcohol, drug or other illicit substances can have the following consequences in the work place:

• An employee is committing serious/gross misconduct

• An employee’s standard of work performance and/or behaviour are deteriorating affecting team work and service provision

The immediate line manager will be responsible for responding to such situations.

Uppermost in the line manager’s mind will be the desire of the employer to assist the employee where possible. However, this must be balanced with our duty of care to patients and clients.

10.Summary of Procedures

If a member of staff is absent from work due to sickness they will be managed in accordance with the Attendance Management Policy (HRPOL31)

A member of staff judged to be incapable of performing their duties at work due to being under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be suspended from duty on full pay in accordance with the organisational policies (i.e. Capability (HRPOL29) or Disciplinary Policy (HRPOL14)). This is a neutral act and does not make any judgement on whether or not an act of misconduct has taken place or the employee’s long term capability.

Employees suspended from duty and asked to return home must not be allowed to drive themselves.

An investigation will be undertaken in line with the Disciplinary policy as soon as practicable after which a decision will be made as to the next steps to be taken to manage the situation. Consideration should be given as to the support that can be offered to the member of staff from Occupational Health or an external agency.

Being unable to attend work/report for duty due to the use of alcohol/drugs etc may also be dealt with under the Disciplinary Policy.

Where an employee makes a declaration of the misuse of alcohol, drugs etc but remains at work, management should complete a risk assessment. Advice should be sought from Occupational Health and any external agencies. In some cases, it may be necessary to re-deploy the employee to minimise risk to patients or others. If performance is affected, or re-deployment considered necessary then this may be handled with under the Capability Procedure, the Disciplinary Procedure or the Attendance Management Procedure.

If referral to a third party to receive appropriate treatment is the outcome from any meeting or process and this is refused by the employee, then the Provide Disciplinary Policy may be implemented.

11.Registration of Professional Practitioners

Where formal action is taken against a member of staff, existing obligations to report such action to regulatory bodies will be observed.

12.Independent Contractors

Anyone with concerns relating to alcohol or illicit substance misuse of independent contractors should contact our Clinical Quality Team with their concerns. Alternatively, the relevant professional body may be contacted and contact details can be found at the relevant websites as follows:

GPs: www.gmc-uk.org

Dentists: www.gdc-uk.org

Pharmacists: www.rpsgb.org.uk

Optometrists: www.optical.org

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13.External Support Agencies

Alcoholics Anonymous

Drink line

National Drug Helpline

0800 9177 650

0300 123 1110

0800 77 66 00

Samaritans 116 123

Drug and Alcohol Service 01206 287250

NHS Direct 111

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 1: ‘Screening’

Name of project/policy/strategy (hereafter referred to as “initiative”):

Managing Drug and Alcohol Policy

Provide a brief summary (bullet points) of the aims of the initiative and main activities:

Provide has a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and welfare at work of its employees. A policy on how to manage staff that take or under affects drugs and alcohol while at work

Project/Policy Manager: Health, Safety, Fire and Security Manager Date: May 2022

This stage establishes whether a proposed initiative will have an impact from an equality perspective on any particular group of people or community – i.e. on the grounds of race (incl. religion/faith), gender (incl. sexual orientation), age, disability, or whether it is “equality neutral” (i.e. have no effect either positive or negative). In the case of gender, consider whether men and women are affected differently.

Q1. Who will benefit from this initiative? Is there likely to be a positive impact on specific groups/communities (whether or not they are the intended beneficiaries), and if so, how? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”? i.e. will have no particular effect on any group.

Neutral

Q2. Is there likely to be an adverse impact on one or more minority/under-represented or community groups as a result of this initiative? If so, who may be affected and why? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”?

Neutral

Q3. Is the impact of the initiative – whether positive or negative - significant enough to warrant a more detailed assessment (Stage 2 – see guidance)? If not, will there be monitoring and review to assess the impact over a period time? Briefly (bullet points) give reasons for your answer and any steps you are taking to addressparticular issues, including any consultation with staff or external groups/agencies.

Neutral

Guidelines: Things to consider

Equality impact assessments at Provide take account of relevant equality legislation and include age, (i.e. young and old,); race and ethnicity, gender, disability, religion and faith, and sexual orientation.

The initiative may have a positive, negative or neutral impact, i.e. have no particular effect on the group/community.

Where a negative (i.e. adverse) impact is identified, it may be appropriate to make a more detailed EIA (see Stage 2), or, as important, take early action to redress this – e.g. by abandoning or modifying the initiative. NB: If the initiative contravenes equality legislation, it must be abandoned or modified.

Where an initiative has a positive impact on groups/community relations, the EIA should make this explicit, to enable the outcomes to be monitored over its lifespan.

Where there is a positive impact on particular groups does this mean there could be an adverse impact on others, and if so can this be justified? - e.g. are there other existing or planned initiatives which redress this?

It may not be possible to provide detailed answers to some of these questions at the start of the initiative. The EIA may identify a lack of relevant data, and that data-gathering is a specific action required to inform the initiative as it develops, and also to form part of a continuing evaluation and review process.

It is envisaged that it will be relatively rare for full impact assessments to be carried out at Provide. Usually, where there are particular problems identified in the screening stage, it is envisaged that the approach will be amended at this stage, and/or setting up a monitoring/evaluation system to review a policy’s impact over time.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 2:

(To be used where the ‘screening phase has identified a substantial problem/concern)

This stage examines the initiative in more detail in order to obtain further information where required about its potential adverse or positive impact from an equality perspective. It will help inform whether any action needs to be taken and may form part of a continuing assessment framework as the initiative develops.

Q1. What data/information is there on the target beneficiary groups/communities? Are any of these groups under- or over-represented? Do they have access to the same resources? What are your sources of data and are there any gaps?

N/A

Q2. Is there a potential for this initiative to have a positive impact, such as tackling discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and good community relations? If yes, how? Which are the main groups it will have an impact on?

N/A

Q3. Will the initiative have an adverse impact on any particular group or community/community relations? If yes, in what way? Will the impact be different for different groups – e.g. men and women?

N/A

Q4. Has there been consultation/is consultation planned with stakeholders/ beneficiaries/ staff who will be affected by the initiative? Summarise (bullet points) any important issues arising from the consultation.

Q5. Given your answers to the previous questions, how will your plans be revised to reduce/eliminate negative impact or enhance positive impact? Are there specific factors which need to be taken into account?

N/A

Q6. How will the initiative continue to be monitored and evaluated, including its impact on particular groups/ improving community relations? Where appropriate, identify any additional data that will be required.

N/A

Guidelines: Things to consider

An initiative may have a positive impact on some sectors of the community but leave others excluded or feeling they are excluded. Consideration should be given to how this can be tackled or minimised. It is important to ensure that relevant groups/communities are identified who should be consulted. This may require taking positive action to engage with those groups who are traditionally less likely to respond to consultations, and could form a specific part of the initiative. The consultation process should form a meaningful part of the initiative as it develops, and help inform any future action. If the EIA shows an adverse impact, is this because it contravenes any equality legislation? If so, the initiative must be modified or abandoned. There may be another way to meet the objective(s) of the initiative.

Further information:

Useful Websites www.equalityhumanrights.com Website for new Equality agency www.employers-forum.co.uk – Employers forum on disability www.disabilitynow.org.uk – online disability related newspaper www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk – Gender issues in more depth www.opportunitynow.org.uk - Employer member organisation (gender) www.efa.org.uk – Employers forum on age www.agepositive.gov.uk – Age issues in more depth