What You Should Know About in an Alcohol Drug Test Employment Policy

Using drugs or alcohol at work can lead to impairments. Additionally, drug or alcohol-impaired staff may show poor concentration, carelessness, risky behaviours and errors in judgement during working hours. Alcohol consumption and drug use can affect work performance and productivity and results in workplace tardiness, absences, accidents, and injuries. Therefore, businesses should work actively with staff on establishing workplace alcohol and drug testing policies and processes. Alcohol drug test employment policies and procedures are more efficient when centered on prevention and protection rather than punishment. Workplace drug and alcohol testing should aim to prevent and minimize workplace risks.

Workplace policy: Alcohol drug test employment

Alcohol drug test employment policies are becoming increasingly common for New Zealand businesses. Businesses decide to test employees because alcohol and drug impairments can give rise to severe health and safety hazards depending in work. Moreover, the law also requires companies to take appropriate and reasonable steps to protect staff and the general public from workplace hazards. Additionally, alcohol or drug testing is legal, under proper action, especially now that alcohol and drug testing services are readily and easily available in New Zealand. However, workplace drug and alcohol testing raises privacy issues and may be invasive to some employees. 

Workplace policy

It is vital for businesses to have a clear and thorough workplace alcohol and drug testing policy. The policy should clearly state what is acceptable and prohibited in the workplace. Furthermore, an alcohol drug test employment policy should also include the repercussions of breaching the policy or when refusing to take workplace tests. Additionally, workplace policies should also state that the company is responsible for providing accurate tests. Employers can use the highly accurate workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers New Zealand for reliable on-site alcohol breath tests. 

The workplace alcohol and drug testing policy should have a straightforward course of action for what happens if staff do not follow the procedure. Additionally, the policy should be clear about what may happen to the staff’s employment. Furthermore, standard workplace policies should disclose what will happen if a worker refuses to take a drug or alcohol test. Typically, refusing a test without reasonable cause will be treated as failing to follow proper and lawful instruction, which is considered significant misconduct. The alcohol drug test employment policy’s primary goal should be prevention, education, training and rehabilitation. 

Testing Positive

The alcohol drug test employment policy should state what happens when an employee tests positive. A positive drug or alcohol test result does not always mean that the worker is impaired. However, a positive test result is essential information that a business can consider when determining whether there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the worker is guilty of misconduct. Every process that the industry observes must be fair and reasonable before taking action.

A business cannot dismiss every employee with an alcohol or drug problem. Therefore, the company has to manage the situation where viewing the rights of all employees fairly and reasonably. The business must follow a fair and reasonable processes when investigating and taking action against a worker who fails or refuses a test. Additionally, decision making will not always be easy, and that is another reason why an alcohol drug test employment policy would be of great assistance to any business. Moreover, the actions to be taken depend highly on what the workplace policy states. 

What makes an alcohol drug test employment policy “reasonable”?

Some indications of the factors that need to be present for any alcohol drug test employment policy to be considered reasonable:

• Random testing – This type of alcohol or drug test is only reasonable for staff that have high-risk roles. Additionally, being impaired by alcohol or drugs can have severe health and safety hazards. 
• Before establishing a workplace drug and alcohol testing policy, the business should consult with staff and unions.
• Providing clear and easily understood written workplace policies to staff.
• When validating the test results, certified professionals should interpret the results.
• The staff should give consent for testing before testing. However, refusing to permit testing fails to follow lawful and proper instructions. Furthermore, considering each refusal case is vital.
• The workplace policy must aim to deal with personal information cautiously.
• The primary goals of the workplace drug and alcohol policy should be to educate and prevent the use or abuse of such substances.
• Rehabilitating employees should be the primary treatment for those testing positive.

Workplace Alcohol Testing

Most alcohol drug test employment policies typically includes the mention workplace alcohol breath testing. Alcohol breath tests are an efficient and quick way of testing staff. However, despite having efficient devices, the company must still have an established workplace drug and alcohol policy before frequent testing. Additionally, the workers must access and understand this policy clearly. Furthermore, the company should also continue to inform the staff about the constant changes made to this policy. A workplace breathalyzer is essential for a business that utilizes workplace testing. There are various types of breathalyzers used in workplace alcohol testing. Breathalyzers New Zealand supplies genuine BACtrack products perfect for conducting workplace alcohol tests. Here are some workplace breathalyzers that we offer:

• S80 Pro Gen 2
• Trace Gen 2
• Mobile Pro Gen 2

Drug and alcohol tests at work using alcohol breath testers is a quick and easy way for doing frequent tests among many employees. Testing employees for drug and alcohol use can drastically improve workplace safety and productivity. Therefore, drug and alcohol testing in the workplace can enhance business efficiency. The business can easily conduct workplace testing if they have an established alcohol drug test employment policy.

Alcohol drug test employment: Pre-employment testing

A business with an alcohol drug test employment policy typically includes pre-employment testing. Companies are using this type of testing to prevent hiring applicants with a history of alcohol and drug use. Additionally, businesses establish workplace testing policies to indicate that they proactively manage workplace alcohol and drug risks. Furthermore, aspiring applicants may be required to be screened for drug and alcohol use as part of the application process, depending on State law and company policy.

A business should provide its staff with proper protection from workplace risks. Moreover, the staff also have responsibilities to take extra care of their safety and their coworker’s safety. The staff must always comply with a justified workplace policy and procedure to help maintain safety in the workplace and general public. A business with an alcohol drug test employment policy should consider getting a breathalyzer for workplace breath testing. The BACtrack professional breathalyzers from Breathalyzers New Zealand are perfect for alcohol breath testing. BACtrack Pro units can provide highly accurate and consistent BAC readings.