No alcohol or drugs, please – this is a workplace

Employees and drugs and alcohol

There are many reasons why employers in the aged care industry may be concerned about employees’ drug and alcohol use, both at and outside work: effects on safety, performance, reputation and behaviour towards other employees, managing prohibition most of the time while allowing social drinking in the right context, managing the Christmas party… 

The possible situations are many and various. This workshop will help you to foresee some of the issues and decide whether you need to review how you deal with drug and alcohol risks, and if so, how to go about it suited to your circumstances. It examine the issues from two perspectives:

• Stephen Booth (Principal, and Head of the Employment Law Team at Coleman Greig Lawyers) will address the legal risks, and minimisation of those risks, and
• Bryce Dick and Steve Reynolds from The Drug Detection Agency will discuss testing regimes: how to set them up, how they work, issues likely to arise. 

Among the specific issues we will cover are: 

• D&A policies to lay the groundwork
• work health and safety issues
• specific obligations for employers
• termination and other disciplinary issues
• privacy issues
• the state of play on testing regimes and union responses
• monitoring and testing practicalities

 Come along to find out about the practical ins and outs from the experts.