Introduction

We have a strict policy on drugs and alcohol, so you, other employees, customers and the public can remain safe, and we can comply with the law.

What You Risk Through Drugs and Alcohol.
You will be dismissed if you:

• Fail an alcohol test. That means you have 30 milligrams or more alcohol in every 100 mililitres of blood, or have equivalent proportions in your breath or urine. If your level is 80 milligrams or more, you could be prosecuted.
• Produce a positive result at a drugs test
• Refuse to take a drugs or alcohol test without good cause
• Report, or try to report, for duty when unfit through drugs or alcohol
• Take alcohol, illegal drugs or abuse legal substances such as glue at work
• Possess illegal drugs at work
• Refuse or abandon approved treatment for an alcohol or drugs problem, without good cause

How Drugs and Alcohol Can Affect You at Work

Drugs – whether we take them by injecting, inhaling or swallowing – and alcohol can delay and disrupt the messages from our brains which shape our thoughts and actions. These substances can therefore lead to damage to you, other people, your work and the Company. In the short term, drugs and alcohol interfere with your co-ordination, reaction time, ability to judge distance, memory and decision making. Long-term heavy drinking can cause mental illness, brain damage, stomach disorders, malnutrition, muscle diseases, high blood pressure and cancers of the mouth and throat, among other problems.

Know Your Drinks

The amount of alcohol in drinks is measured in units. The following measures all contain about a unit, though the exact strength varies from drink to drink:

• Half a pint of beer, lager or cider
• A single measure of a spirit, such as whisky
• A glass of wine or sherry

The higher the “percentage alcohol by volume” quoted on bottles and cans, the stronger the drinks and the more units they contain. You should also remember that both wines and spirits can be sold in various measures. Drinks poured at home are usually more generous than pub measures, and that cocktails are more potent – their high alcoholic content is often masked by fruit juice.

How Quickly Does Alcohol Pass Into Your Blood?
The speed at which alcohol passes into your blood depends on many factors, including your:

• Sex (alcohol tends to get into the blood of women faster)
• Age
• Weight
• Metabolism

Your body eliminates alcohol at a rate of about one unit per hour, no matter how fast you drink, though the speed of elimination is slightly slower in women. Cold showers, strong coffee and other ‘sobering up’ remedies have no effect on the amount of alcohol in your blood. Remember that the difference between passing and failing our alcohol test is just one milligram – or one fifth of a teaspoon – in your blood- alcohol level.

Medicines

You must come to work fit to do your job. Some medicines, though, can affect your working performance. They include tranquillisers, antidepressants, sleeping pills, hay fever tables, and remedies for coughs, colds and indigestion.

Any medicine carrying one of the following warnings may affect your fitness for work:

• May cause drowsiness
• Do not drive while taking this preparation
• Avoid alcohol while taking this preparation

If you are prescribed medicines always tell your doctor, dentist or pharmacist about the type of work you do and then ask them about:

• Whether the medicine is likely to affect your fitness for work
• Any possible side-effects
• The period of treatment
• The name of any drugs in the medicine

If there are side-effects which may affect your fitness for work, you must tell your immediate manager before you start work again.

Screening For Drugs and Alcohol

Screening aims to:

• Identify anyone who comes to work affected by drugs or alcohol
• Ensure we comply with the law as set out in the Transport and Works Act 1992.

Everyone we consider recruiting is screened for drugs. If you refuse to be tested or have a positive test you will not be employed. If you‘re already an employee, we may well screen you for alcohol and/or drugs if:

• There has been an incident
• We suspect you’re unfit to do your job, because of drugs or alcohol
• You’re appointed to a job which, unlike your previous role, is critical to safety.

Once in post, you could be screened again at any time and at very short notice. If you refuse to be screened, you’ll be dismissed.

If you’re tested for one of the first two reasons:

• You’ll be taken to a suitable waiting area, where the test will take place
• Light refreshments, such as water, tea, coffee, biscuits and sandwiches will be available to you, but you mustn’t bring your own
• You’re allowed to take medication prescribed by your doctor
• The testing agency will normally arrive within two hours but details of any delays will be passed on to you, as soon as they’re available
• If you’re to be tested close to the end of work, you can have someone contacted, if necessary
• If you’re kept on after normal finishing time, you’ll be paid at the appropriate rate
• You’ll receive the result of the alcohol breath test on site. The result of the drug test can take up to ten days but a slow response doesn’t necessarily mean a positive result.
• You’ll normally be removed from work critical to safety until we know the test results or we have identified the cause of any incident.

If the police are involved they may also want to test you. You may also be arrested. You must give your immediate manager a copy of any police alcohol test, if you’re asked to do so. Refusing to be tested by the police is an arrestable offence. A “chain of custody” procedure is always followed, to ensure that any urine samples are kept secure and the identities of the donors remain confidential. A trained collecting officer:

• Identifies the donor
• Collects the sample
• Transfers the sample to a container
• Labels and seals the container, in a sealed package, to the laboratory

Trained laboratory staff then analyse the sample and send us a report with the results. You have the right to challenge a positive result. The laboratory will keep all positive samples for one year, so that they can be analysed again, if you so wish.

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I confirm that I read and understood the Drugs and Alcohol policy within Ontrak and that random checking will take place. If either substance is detected, my employment with Ontrak and the relevant TOC will be terminated with immediate effect.