Business Urged To Provide Substance Misuse Support

Firms must do more to help staff struggling with drink and drug misuse problems, a new report has recommended. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found 41 per cent of employers feel that alcohol misuse is a major cause of absenteeism and poor productivity.

A third (34 per cent) of firms believe drugs have a similar impact. More needs to be done by firms to rehabilitate those with drug and drink problems, the CIPD said. The CIPD research, based on responses from 505 human resources professionals from firms together employing over 1.1m workers, suggested that 22 per cent of employers currently test staff for misuse of drugs and alcohol - up from 18 per cent in 2001 - with another 9 per cent planning to introduce some form of testing.

Almost a third of organisations said they had dismissed employees in the last two years due to alcohol problems. And more than a quarter said that they would report staff to the police if they were found to have used illegal drugs. Of the firms quizzed, 60 per cent ban alcohol being consumed on the work premises, while 24 per cent do not allow it while entertaining clients during office work time.

CIPD employer relations adviser, Ben Willmott, said the firms that helped their staff had a good success rate in getting them back to work - with 60 per cent staying with the company after overcoming problems. But only half of the employers quizzed gave access to counselling for workers fighting dependencies on drink or drugs, with just 38 per cent offering coordinated rehabilitation.

He said: "Since 2001 the number of organisations with drug and alcohol policies has remained around the same (58 per cent) and where organisations do have policies they are doing very little to actively promote them." He added: "Clearly drug and alcohol misuse is an issue which needs to be taken seriously. Yet only a third of employers train managers in how to manage these sorts of issues at work."

Recent studies have concluded workplace substance misuse testing is of 'minimal' use, and have backed approaches that provide assistance for affected workers

CIPD Report

Source: TUC Risks


 
 
Icon: back to news
 

Designed, Hosted and Maintained by Union Safety Services