Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Alcohol and drug misuseWellbeingOccupational Health

Four in 10 employees concerned about safety impact of colleagues who take drugs

by Ashleigh Webber 18 May 2018
by Ashleigh Webber 18 May 2018

Four in 10 people believe that working alongside somebody who is under the influence of illegal drugs would make their working environment unsafe.

According to a survey conducted by drug testing provider Intelligent Fingerprinting, more than one in 10 workers have suspected a colleague of taking illegal drugs. Workers in London were particularly concerned, with 24% of staff suggesting they believed a colleague had been using illicit substances.

Drug testing

How to carry out drug and alcohol testing of employees

Unfair dismissal: manager who refused drug test should have set example

Despite their worries, 20% of the 1,200 employees polled had not taken any action to confront the colleague they suspected of using drugs.

Drug misuse can be a concern when it comes to ensuring health and safety standards are met and accidents avoided, according to Intelligent Fingerprinting’s business development director Dr Paul Yates.

“It is clear that drug usage not only puts the safety of individual employees at risk, but also contributes to the cumulative workplace accidents that cost the UK some £4 billion every year,” he said. “It’s particularly an issue in those sectors where drug misuse takes place in safety-critical working environments such as construction, manufacturing, logistics, public transport networks and utilities.”

Yates claimed employees might be reluctant to confront colleagues because they lacked evidence of drug-use and suggested some working environments made drug or alcohol testing impractical. For example, conducting a drugs screening urine test on a construction site is sometimes a challenge.

Yates suggested that fingerprint drugs screening, which can detect whether multiple drugs have been used, takes only a few seconds and is easier to implement than some other drug testing methods.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“It’s an ideal platform for spontaneous workplace drug screening and we know that regular random drug screening, combined with an effective drug and alcohol policy, acts as a strong deterrent to drug use in the workplace,” he added.

The Government published the results of its review into the link between work and drug and alcohol dependence in December 2016. It argued that mandating treatment would be more likely to lead to people hiding their addiction, rather than revealing it.

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Consultation into private sector tax avoidance a ‘fatal blow’
next post
How HR can help stressed employees cope

You may also like

Alcohol deaths in the UK at all-time high,...

10 Feb 2025

Top 10 HR questions January 2025: TUPE employee...

4 Feb 2025

Warning of ‘catastrophic’ rise in alcohol deaths in...

20 Dec 2024

Office Christmas parties feature in fewer tribunal cases

28 Nov 2024

Scotland still struggling with stigmatisation of severe mental...

15 Nov 2024

Addiction: Supporting employees with alcohol and drug issues

2 Oct 2024

Understanding alcohol ‘sensitisation’ and its impact in the...

24 Sep 2024

One in 10 with chronic pain at risk...

14 Aug 2024

Alcohol harm costing England £27bn a year

21 May 2024

Call for action over ‘alarming’ Scotland drink-related deaths

30 Apr 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today