Alcoholism and the workplace. (part 7)

 It is repeated that it is managements responsibility to prevent alcohol abuse in the workplace.

The easy way out, of course, is to simply have a policy stating that any employee found guilty of alcohol or drug abuse etc in the workplace will be subject to disciplinary action, which may lead to dismissal, and the employer’s Disciplinary Code will state that the sanction for such offenses will be a final written warning (on the first offense) and dismissal on the second offense.

But it is an expensive business (in terms of both time and money) to dismiss employees and employ a replacement.

That cannot be denied. The financial implications of this must be weighed up against then financial implications of offering assistance to errant employees.

It must be empahsised that there is no obligation the employer to offer assistance – the Code of Good Practice – Dismissal merely states that the employer should consider the matter.

Thus it is for the employer to decide – and generally, assistance will be offered only to those employees who demonstrate that there is a reasonable chance that rehabilitation will be successful, that the employee genuinely realizes that he has a problem and that he needs help.

The latter is of course a prime requirement. The employee who insists that the drinking or drugging is not a problem for him and he can stop at anytime, and does not need help, cannot be helped -  and it is a waste of time to try.

The policy will emphasize that all assistance and counseling is voluntary, and no employee is forced to submit to rehabilitation if they do not wish to do so. However, employees who do commit to it must make a full commitment.

Conditions can include factors such as that the employer will make funds available to the employee to pay the costs of rehabilitation, but this will be in the form of a staff loan and the employee must re-pay the amount at an agreed monthly amount.

Other requirements, in addition to the requirement that the employee agree to undergo rehabilitation, would be that the employee must join the Alcoholics Anonymous (or other suitable organization) and that the employee must attend all meetings of that organization, and that he must remain sober for at least 2 years after completing the rehabilitation program.

Stipulate further that should any of these conditions be breached, further assistance will not be offered, but disciplinary action will be invoked which may lead to dismissal.

Employers can seek the advice of organizations such as SANCA (The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction) or Alcoholics Anonymous or similar organizations,  to gain advice and information on formulating a policy, the do’s and don’ts of handling alcoholism in the workplace, and so on.

It must be remembered that the employee’s family also plays a very big part in all this, and consultation (or counseling) with the employee’s spouse could well form a very big part in the process.

The policy can provide for voluntary testing – an employee who arrives at work after a heavy party the night before can submit to a voluntary test – if found to be outside the policy limits, he can take leave for the day with no further action against him.

The policy can provide for random testing – especially where there is a large number of employees in the workplace. This can be done in a number of ways to ensure impartiality. On entering the workplace, the employees draw a number form a box and all even numbers are tested or every second odd number is tested, and so on.

Compulsory testing can be done where there are obvious signs of alcohol consumption or drug abuse – the smell of alcohol on the breath, bloodshot eyes, unsteady on the feet, attitude (aggressive  or confrontational) turning the face away from the person being spoken to, shielding the mouth with a hand when speaking, unusually disheveled appearance, and so on.

 Contact advice@labourguide.co.za for parts 1-6

The South African Labour Guide is a private company and has no association with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), you may find the CCMA on www.ccma.org.za