wasteminz 2009 introducing a drug and alcohol policy aaron lloyd, partner minter ellison rudd watts...
TRANSCRIPT
WasteMINZ 2009
Introducing a Drug and Alcohol Policy
Aaron Lloyd, Partner
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
15 October 2009
Hotel Grand Chancellor
Christchurch
1924748
Drug and alcohol policies
• Workplace drug and/or alcohol testing is legal in New Zealand
• Drug and alcohol testing can be the subject of a fair and reasonable employer policy
• An employer is required under health and safety legislation to take “all practicable steps” to provide a safe place of work
• An employer is also required to identify and manage significant hazards in the workplace
• Drugs and alcohol are listed as potential hazards in Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Tension between obligation to ensure workplace safety and employee’s right to privacy
Grounds for drug and alcohol testing
• Case law has confirmed a number of grounds of testing:
• Pre-employment
• Internal transfer to a safety sensitive position
• Post accident, incident or near miss
• Reasonable suspicion that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Random testing of employees in safety sensitive positions
Drug and Alcohol testing policy
• Coverage
• Method of testing
• Types of drugs being tested for
• Consent of employee – can’t compel an employee to undertake a test
• Privacy considerations - collection and results
• What do you do with employee while waiting for the results?
• Positive results – threshold/consequences
• Rehabilitation
• Ongoing review of policy including testing procedures
Tips for implementing a drug and alcohol policy
• Develop your proposal with appropriate staff i.e. health and safety representatives, unions
• Consult relevant professionals such as ESR, medical practitioners, or health and safety specialists regarding technical aspects such as collection and storing of samples or interpretation of results
• An employer is entitled to implement a drug and alcohol policy without employee/union agreement on the policy provided that
• employer is not bound by its employment agreements to obtain agreement
• employer has undertaken sufficient prior consultation on a draft policy
• policy is reasonable • Inform employees of policy with training sessions/workshops
Issues with drug and alcohol testing
• What is a “safety sensitive position”?
• Consent – when does an employee give their consent?
• Competing issue of the right to privacy of the employee vs. safety obligations
• Rehabilitation – what is expected of an employer?
• Will you also include the ability for the employer to search employee property for presence of drugs and/or alcohol?
Questions
