Intoxicants at Work | Toxicology Testing

As of time of going to press the Republic of Ireland does not have legislation that requires employers to test employees for intoxicants. If an employee is intoxicated while at work, it can result in the existence of serious risk to their safety and that of their colleagues and co workers

As an employer, you have a duty to ensure that employees are not under the influence of an intoxicant as this may threaten safety, health and welfare in the workplace. If an employer knowingly allow employees to work under the influence of intoxicants they may be liable to prosecution. Therefore, as an employer, it is important to be able to identify and observe signs of potential drug and alcohol use, such as:

Lateness and absenteeism
Unreliability
A decline in work performance
Impaired concentration, memory, judgement and physical coordination
Sudden mood changes
Dishonesty and theft
Increased amount of errors and accidents
Aggression or violence

It is recommended that each and every Organisation should have a clear and detailed intoxicants policy (often referred to as a drugs and alcohol policy) in place. Such a policy should include details in relation to intoxicants in the workplace, how an instance where there is a positive case of intoxicant will be dealt with, and the possible consequences of testing positive for such an intoxicant, that this may be considered to be gross misconduct, and will have consequences up to and including dismissal. Like all other policies, this policy should be very clearly worded and easy to comprehend.

Even if an Organisation has a clear and easy to comprehend policy on intoxicants in the workplace, and consequences include dismissal, Employers need to be mindful that if an Employee has a problem with drugs and/or alcohol this can be defined as a disability, and Employers have an obligation (under the Employment Equality Act, 1998) to not discriminate against Employee’s on 9 grounds, with disability being one of these 9 grounds. This is evident in A Government Department v An Employee (ADE/05/19), the Equality Officer referred to the definition of alcoholism as “.. a primary chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations…. It is characterised by continuous or periodic impaired control over drinking.”

If you have suspicions or there’s a possible risk of substance abuse in your workplace you should develop and implement a Workplace Drugs and Alcohol Policy that applies to all members of staff, and you should also ensure that you clearly communicate the reasons and aims of the policy. It’s important to keep the policy focus on all employees and not to single out anyone.

The policy should look to raise awareness on the potential health effects of substance abuse, and recognise alcohol and substance abuse as a medical condition that can be treated.