Drugs & alcohol policy
Who this policy
applies to
This statement sets out Skanska UK’s policy for minimising risk to its activities and
operations. It applies to all Skanska UK employees and, where appropriate, others
such as consultants, sub-contractors and agency workers working on a site under
Skanska’s control.
Policy
statement
At Skanska we are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our employees,
those who work on our sites and those who are and may be affected by our works.
One element of that commitment is to ensure that our employees and others, such
as consultants, sub-contractors or agency workers, hereafter known as contractors
and other third parties, are not placing themselves or others at risk by the misuse of
drugs or alcohol. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that employees and
contractors do not report for work in an unfit state by virtue of use of alcohol or
drugs, including both illegal drugs, legal medication and legal highs (properly
known as Novel Psychoactive Substances), nor consume or be in possession of
alcohol, or any drug that may affect their ability to undertake their duties.
Skanska is committed to creating an Injury-Free Environment (IFE) by fostering a
culture of care and concern for people, which demands that everybody accepts
responsibility for their own and others wellbeing. This policy forms part of that
commitment.
Skanska UK will assist with the rehabilitation of employees who voluntarily seek
help for drug and alcohol related problems. Such individuals must, however, seek
assistance at the earliest possible opportunity. Subsequent discovery, or a disclosure
prompted by impending screening, will not be acceptable and will not provide
immunity to an individual from consequential disciplinary action
No employee or contractor will:
 report in an unfit state due to the use of drugs or alcohol
 be in possession of alcohol or drugs of abuse in the workplace or
 consume alcohol or use drugs during working hours.
A programme of screening, including ‘For cause’, and random unannounced
screening for all employees, has been put in place which includes procedures
intended to:
 detect the use of drugs and/or alcohol by any person(s), employees and
contractors alike, involved in a safety related incident where there is a
possibility that the actions or omissions of the person(s) led to the incident
 detect the use of drugs and/or alcohol where employees or contractors
behaviour prompts cause for concern
 detect, via random screening, employees or contractors who may be under the
influence of drugs or alcohol.
Skanska UK will not tolerate any departure from the requirements contained in
either this policy or accompanying procedure and will regard any infringement,
including where a member of staff refuses to be screened without good cause, as
gross misconduct and will instigate appropriate disciplinary action.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 1
Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to:
 ensure effective measures are in place to control and minimise the risks to
Skanska UK caused by the effects of drugs and alcohol, in order to ensure the
safety of Skanska UK’s clients, employees, and workers, sub-contractors and
agency staff, henceforth known as contractors
 eliminate as far as is reasonably practical, the misuse/abuse of drugs and
alcohol by employees and contractors working on behalf of Skanska UK
 ensure that Skanska UK complies with legislation and relevant Codes of
practice and contractual requirements
 encourage employees who might have an alcohol or drugs dependency to
declare the fact without fear of losing their job, provided they commit to
complying with an agreed rehabilitation arrangements.
Scope
This procedure and supporting appendices applies to all employees and workers (via
the terms of their contract and rules of engagement) working on behalf of Skanska
UK during the course of their duties.
Definitions
The definitions for this policy can be found in Appendix A.
Guidance
They do apply to any off-duty member of staff who, for any reason, enters any
Skanska UK premises that are not normally accessible to the public.
This policy and supporting procedures does not apply to any off-duty member of
staff who is within an area of Skanska UK premises accessible to the public.
Communicating Skanska UK’s Drugs and alcohol policy is issued through the document control
process and will be brought to the attention of all employees and contractors.
the policy and
procedure
All prospective employees of Skanska UK, including internal applicants for positions
where the post holder will be defined as a safety critical worker, will be made aware
of Skanska UK’s policy regarding drugs and alcohol. See Appendix B for more
information regarding roles that are considered safety critical by Skanska. Further
guidance for these roles can be found within the EHS 022-G03 document in
OWOW.
All new employees will be provided with a full briefing on the policy regarding
alcohol and drugs as part of their local induction. This includes the provision of
educational material and the process for declaring a problem to their line manager.
Line managers will conduct a suitable briefing, including issue of a guidance
booklet, to all employees under their control and, thereafter, carry out as
appropriate, regular refresher briefings on the policy and procedure as part of the
safety briefing process.
Voluntarily
Seeking help
Individuals seeking help for drugs and/or alcohol related problems
Skanska UK will provide help and support to employees who voluntarily seek help
for drugs and/or alcohol related problems. Such employees must, however, seek
assistance at the earliest possible opportunity – subsequent discovery or disclosure
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 2
prompted by impending screening will not be accepted as a voluntary declaration
and request for help and assistance.
Individuals can voluntarily seek help and support by speaking directly with their line
manager, their HR Business Partner or by contacting the nominated OU D&A
contact (Appendix C). In all cases, the line manager and HR will be informed and
involved as a means to providing an individually agreed level of support.
The line manager will ensure that any safety critical work or rail related working
licences, held by such individuals who have declared their dependency, are
withdrawn to prevent the individual’s concerned from carrying out safety critical
duties, until such time as the Occupational Health team advises the line manager
that it is appropriate for them to do so.
In such circumstances and thereafter, a regime of unannounced screening may be
required to monitor the employee’s continued commitment to the rehabilitation
programme put in place.
Prescribed and
over the
counter
medication
Medication that could affect safety
If a safety critical worker is taking legal medication (whether prescribed or not) that
could affect their judgement, they must notify their line manager at the earliest
opportunity.
The line manager will determine whether or not the individual is fit to undertake
safety critical duties, taking any necessary advice from Occupational Health
concerning the possible side effects of the medication; for instance, drowsiness,
fatigue, impact on co-ordination or balance. The declaration form (Appendix D)
should be completed with any advice provided by Occupational Health and retained
within the personal record.
Where a safety critical worker is returning to work following any period of sickness,
the line manager must establish, during the return to work interview, conducted
prior to recommencing work, whether the employee is taking any medication that
could affect their fitness for duty. Before allowing the safety critical worker to
resume safety critical work, the line manager should consult Occupational Health
for guidance and/or advice, if necessary.
Random
screening
Unannounced random drugs and alcohol screening
As part of its Drugs and alcohol policy, Skanska UK has developed arrangements to
undertake unannounced drugs and alcohol screening of a random selection of all
personnel (employees, contractors, visitors) on the site/project. The percentage of
Skanska employees tested each year will not be less than 5%. The list of people on
site on the day of testing will can be generated by the security logs.
The arrangements for unannounced random screening are detailed in the flowchart
and notes contained in Appendix E.
Individuals who have undergone unannounced random screening and recorded a
negative result will be allowed to continue to undertake safety critical duties, unless
there are other and reasonable grounds to suspect that they are unfit for duty at the
time of the screening, in which case a chain of custody urine sample will be passed
to the laboratory for further analysis and they will be suspended from safety critical
activities during the interim.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 3
Guidance
Where the reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual is unfit for duty, by
virtue of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, then they will inform the
responsible manager or OU point of contact, in charge of facilitating the screening,
who will determine whether the individual should be removed from duty.
Where doubt does exist, concerning the employee’s fitness to work, then the line
manager must seek advice from HR and where this is not possible e.g. during out of
hours, then the individual should be suspended on contractual pay during the
interim.
‘For cause’
screening
‘For cause’ screening
Skanska UK’s arrangements for undertaking ‘For cause’ screening are detailed in
Appendix F & G.
Skanska UK has identified a number of incidents that, should they occur, will always
be considered as reasonable grounds to conduct ‘For cause’ screening and these
might include:
 where an individual’s behaviour gives reasonable cause to suspect that they are
unfit to continue working as a consequence of the misuse of drugs and/or
alcohol (behavioural), or
 it is essential to determine whether drugs and/or alcohol was a causal factor in
an accident or incident (post-incident).
The responsible manager in charge will arrange for the necessary screening to be
undertaken (Appendix H).
The responsible manager in charge must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable,
that:
 any employee or contractor commencing a turn of duty must be fit for work
and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol that could impair his/her
performance
 employees do not consume drugs or alcohol whilst at work that could impair
their performance.
Any employee who believes that another employee or contractor working on a
Skanska UK site or premises is unfit for work, due to the effects of drugs and/or
alcohol, has a duty of care to report the matter to the responsible manager in
charge immediately.
Results of
screening
Negative screening results
If the results of a drug and alcohol screening test are ‘negative’ then the responsible
manager in charge will normally arrange for the selected employee or contractor to
return to work.
However in the event of a negative drug screening but the individual’s appearance
and/or conduct gives cause for concern then, a urine sample should, with the
agreement of HR Business partner and/or line manager, be sent to the laboratory
for testing for drugs not covered by the initial test. The responsible manager in
charge will arrange for the selected employee or contractor to be suspended from
duty, in accordance with the precautionary investigatory arrangements and, with
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 4
immediate effect, not allow the individual to take up their duties until the results of
the laboratory confirmation test is known.
If the responsible manager is concerned that despite receiving a negative result but
may still have concerns that the employee may still be under the influence, then
they should consider further testing.
The responsible manager should contact Synergy Health in the first instance to
discuss what additional tests might be required. This may require specific collection
requirements and/or further costs.
Non-negative
drugs screening
Non-negative screening results
If the results of the urine drug screening test are ‘non negative’ but there are no
other indicators that the employee is unfit for work due to the effects of drugs, then
the responsible manager in charge needs to refer to Appendix I. The starting point
for managing this employee and the associate safety risk is whether or not the
employee/contractor is a safety critical worker?
If the employee is not defined as being safety critical worker then in normal
circumstances they can remain at work with the caveat they must not drive any
company vehicles (including pool cars or motorised plant) and/or be present on a
live project site and/or undertake any safety critical activities. These restrictions
would stay in place until confirmation of results are returned from the laboratory.
Employees do not need to be ‘suspended’ from duties pending the results.
If the employee is a safety critical worker then Appendix I provides a potential
alternative to suspending the worker pending confirmation of the screening results.
It should be emphasised that such alternative arrangements are dependent upon
the business capacity to suitably adjust the work/workplace. This will be a local
decision through operational managers who are encouraged to seek advice/support
of health and safety professionals and HR, where doubt exists.
Positive
breathalyser
result for
alcohol
Appropriate arrangements should be made for the employee/contractor to be
transported safely home, e.g. escorted, or in a taxi where there is no capacity to
adjust the work activities if they have driven to work.
Guidance
The responsible manager in charge will also inform the individual’s line manager
and ensure that any safety critical and/or working licences held by the individual are
withdrawn and returned to the individual’s line manager or, in the case of a
contractor returned to the employing organisation.
If the result of the breathalyser screening for alcohol is positive, see below, then the
person conducting the test will advise the line manager and HR Business Partner at
the earliest opportunity. The line manager will arrange for the employee or
contractor to be suspended from duty with immediate effect and ensure that safe
and appropriate arrangements are made for the employee/contractor to safely
travel home, e.g. escorted or in a taxi.
Payment for the remainder of that shift will be unpaid, because the employee will
be deemed to be in breach of their contract during the remainder of the shift, by
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 5
virtue of having failed the breathalyser and thereby being unfit to work.
The failure by an employee or worker will be regarded as gross misconduct and the
relevant HR Business Partner will assist the line manager in implementing the
disciplinary procedures as appropriate.
Alcohol limits
0.13 milligrams (mgs) of alcohol per litre of breath or
13 micrograms of alcohol per 100 mls/of breath.
Guidance
Any employee selected for screening, who refuses to undergo screening, will have
their refusal regarded as a positive screening result and the appropriate disciplinary
procedure will be initiated.
If the result of the laboratory confirmation test is negative or consistent with
declared medication, then the HR Business Partner will advise the line manager who
will inform the individual that they are fit to return to return to work.
If the result of the laboratory confirmation is positive and not consistent with
declared medication, then the HR Business Partner will advise the line manager.
Such a failure will be regarded as gross misconduct and the relevant HR Business
Partner will assist the line manager in implementing the disciplinary procedures.
All disciplinary measures must be undertaken in accordance with the Skanska UK’s
Disciplinary procedure.
Failing, or refusing to undergo, a drugs or alcohol screening will be treated as gross
misconduct.
If an employee or contractor provides a positive screening result, Skanska UK will,
following a compliant disciplinary process, probably consider the individual as being
not suitable for further employment and s/he will not be considered for future
employment for a minimum period of five years.
A candidate, who previously failed a drugs or alcohol screening, or refused to
cooperate with a screening five years or more previously, will only be considered
suitable for subsequent employment with Skanska UK if they agree to abide with an
effective regime of individual screening implemented to ensure they do not have an
on-going problem related to the systematic abuse of drugs and/or alcohol.
Record keeping
Human Resources will maintain records of screenings carried out for a minimum of
five years from the date of screening.
The responsible manager will ensure that the results of a positive screening for
drugs and/or alcohol are provided to the relevant HR Business Partner for recording
on an individual’s personal file.
Monitoring and review
The Director of Health and Safety will ensure that the results of screening are
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 6
regularly monitored to identify any trends that indicate changes in the level of drug
and/or alcohol abuse.
Guidance
The results of drugs and alcohol screening are included in the health and safety
performance report for Skanska UK. In the event of any adverse trends being
identified, the Director of Health and Safety will highlight the issue to the Health
and Safety Steering Group, which will determine an appropriate course of action.
The Director of Health and Safety will make arrangements for periodic audits to
ensure that the requirements of the Drugs and alcohol policy and supporting
procedures are being complied with at an OU level.
The Director of Health and Safety will periodically review this policy to take account
of the results of trend analysis and audit in order to prevent or eliminate any
increase in risk resulting from failure to effectively implement the policy and/or
supporting procedures
References and related documents
Appendices
Appendix A Definitions
Appendix B Safety critical worker roles
Appendix C OU nominated D&A contacts
Appendix D Self-declaration medication form
Appendix E Random testing flow chart
Appendix F With cause testing flow chart
Appendix G Procedure for monitoring an employee
Appendix H Incident form and IM SAFE checklist
Appendix I Decision logic to manage non-negative results
Appendix J FAQ
Related procedures
Disciplinary Procedures
EHS 022-G03 Guidance regarding definition and health assessment requirement of
safety critical workers
Resources
Drugs and alcohol communication leaflet. European Workplace Drug Testing
Guidelines. http://www.ewdts.org/ewdts-guidelines.html
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 7
Appendix A
Definitions of terms:
‘For cause’ screening
In situations where an individual’s behaviour, either immediately prior to starting
work, or whilst at work, or in any non-public area of Skanska UK premises, gives
reasonable cause to suspect that they are under the influence of alcohol and/or
drugs (behavioural).
Guidance
Symptoms that will give grounds for behavioural screening include the smell of
alcohol on the breath, glazed eyes, vacant expression, lack of concentration,
unsteadiness when standing or walking, slurred speech inconsistent with normal
circumstances, etc.
Use the IM SAFE checklist which can be found embedded within the Incident Form
(Appendix H).
Post incident screening
To determine whether drugs or alcohol was a causal factor in an accident or
incident (post-incident).
Guidance
Post-incident screening may be undertaken following accident, serious incident or a
near miss, and not necessarily just those involving safety critical activities.
Non negative result
A urine test that is administered and results in traces of substances, that could be
relevant to prescription or over the counter medicines but could also be the result
of illegal substance use. All non-negative results will be subject to further
laboratory analysis.
Chain of custody
A process specifically designed to maintain and document an audit trail for a
sample provided for analysis of the possible presence of drugs, in order to
safeguard the identity and integrity of the sample from collection through to
reporting of the test results, leading to the production of a legally defensible report.
Drugs
Any controlled drug as defined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or any other
substance that could affect a person’s ability to carry out their duties safely.
Guidance
This includes medication either prescribed by a medical practitioner or purchased
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 8
over the counter.
Irrespective of any changes in legislation which may decriminalise the use of drugs,
such as cannabis, marijuana etc, for personal use, any such changes will have no
effect on the application of Skanska UK’s Drugs and alcohol policy and procedure.
In order to meet compliance with appropriate legislation, all drugs which can affect
a person’s ability and judgement to ensure the safety of clients, public or workforce
will be covered by the policy.
Legal highs or Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS)
A legal high is a non-prescribed substance that is not defined under the misuse of
drugs act or licenced by the MHRA and is not licensed for human consumption in
the UK. Such substances can however, have the same undesirable effects as illegal
drugs and must be treated in the same manner.
Line manager
The manager to whom the employee subject to screening reports within the
organisational structure.
Responsible manager in charge
The manager with the responsibility for the location/site where screening for drugs
and alcohol is required.
Positive screening result
For the purpose of this procedure, this means that screening for drugs or alcohol
shows:
 the presence of drugs for which there is no legitimate medical need for either
their use of the quantity of their use or 0.13 milligrams (mgs) of alcohol per litre
of breath or 13 micrograms of alcohol per 100 mls/of breath.
 the presence of drugs is defined by the European Workplace Drug Testing
guidelines. Where drugs are not defined in these guidelines, then current best
practice will be used
 a refusal to undergo screening for drugs or alcohol, where required by this
procedure, will be treated as a positive screening result.
Due to Skanska UK operating on Network Rail and London Underground sites, the
company is obliged to comply with a lower threshold of tolerance than has
previously been demanded in other parts of our business. Therefore, for consistency
and fairness across the Skanska UK business unit we will apply the more demanding
thresholds for alcohol tolerance.
Safety critical work
Any activity falling within the definition of a safety critical worker as defined within
EHS22-03 Guidance regarding definition and health assessment requirement of
safety critical workers and, in regard to Skanska UK’s rail operations, by Part 4 of
the Railways and Other Guided Transport System (Safety) regulations 2006.
A list of safety critical roles can be found in Appendix B.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 9
More information regarding these roles can be found in EHS022-G03
A-L
M-Z
Commercial divers
Confined space workers
Crane co-ordinators
Crane operator
Crane supervisors
Demolition workers
HGV driver
High speed road workers
High voltage (HV) appointed persons
LGV driver
Low voltage (LV) appointed persons
Mechanical appointed persons
MEWP operators
Piling rig attendants
Plant operators
Rail trackside
SCBA or compressed air users
Signaller
Slinger
Tunnellers
Vehicle marshalls
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 10
Appendix C
Nominated OU drugs and alcohol contact
The requirement of this role is to:
 provide interpretation to employees, managers and management team on
D&A policy and procedure
 provide the link between Synergy Health and the OU
 facilitate the random D&A testing according to the criteria (which will be 5%)
 maintain a contemporaneous database with all tests completed and results.
Corporate
Name: Emily Henderson, Project EHS Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07876 871853
Cementation
Name: Claire-Louise Lipinski, Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07967 132217
Civil Engineering
Name: Richard Hemingway, Senior Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07768 235638
Construction – Central & Regions
Name: Nick Wing, Senior Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07794 375108
Construction – London & South East
Name: Darran Sly, Senior Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07814 973875
Facilities Services
Name: Eileen Roddis, Senior Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07792 266057
Infrastructure Services
Name: Jenny Stevens, CSC Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07834 507498
SRW
Name: Craig Murdoch, Health & Safety Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07970 883248
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
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Utilities Services
Name: Paul Thompson, SHEQ Manager
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07854 712175
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
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Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 13
4.01
OU H&S Partner
4.02
Use site security
log/HR Data
team, on request
Determine annual schedule for the 5% random screening
compliance with Skanska’s policy
Candidates, including reserves, for testing identified. Provider
generates the randomness using a formula
4.03
OU H&S partner
Site collector or visit by Synergy arranged as appropriate
4.04
Responsible
Manager
Site collector or synergy’s collection officer arrives on site and
meets with responsible manager in charge
4.05
Responsible
Manager
Suitable WCs made available to conduct screening
4.06
Site
management
4.07
Collection
officer
Candidates to be screened are made available to
collector/synergy collection officer, including reserves, if
necessary
4.08
Responsible
manager
Yes
?
No
Employee suspended
for remainder of shift
and HR advised re
disciplinary action
4.09
Resourcing
partner
Initial screening result - positive/negative ?
4.10
Resourcing
partner
Negative
4.11
Line manager in
Colla-boration
with HR
Employee informed of
result and returns to
work
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Non negative/positive
Employee is suspended
pending confirmation of
result from laboratory
Last review: May 2016
Page 14
5.01
Line manager
5.02
Line manager
5.03
Line manager
Grounds exist to suspect employee may be under the influence
of alcohol or drugs
Arrangements made to conduct a screening ASAP
Employee quarantined pending arrival of collection officer (refer
to appendix G)
5.04
Responsible
manager
Collection officer arrives on site and meets with responsible
manager in charge
5.05
Responsible
Manager
Suitable WCs made available to conduct screening
5.06
Line manager
Employee advised of reason for screening
Employee undertakes screening process?
5.07
Line manager
No
?
Yes
Employee suspended
for remainder of shift
and HR advised re
disciplinary action
5.08
Resourcing
partner
Initial screening result - positive/negative?
Negative
5.09
Resourcing
Partner
Non negative/positive
Employee informed of result &
returns to work
Employee is suspended
pending confirmation of
result from laboratory
5.10
Line manager in
collaboration
with HR
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 15
Appendix G
Procedure for monitoring an employee/ contractor donor
whilst waiting for a collection officer to be present
When an employee or contractor has been identified as requiring a drug and/or
alcohol test it is important that measures are taken to monitor this person until the
collection officer arrives and can take control.
The employee/contractor should be taken to a room/environment where they can
physically be seen/supervised by a member of staff in a senior position.
If the employee/contractor makes a request to empty his/her bladder then
reasonable timings should be taken into consideration. It is acceptable to request
that the individual abstains from carrying out this function if the collector is due to
attend site within 20 minutes, although if the donor persists then the request should
not be denied. Any further time delays would not be deemed reasonable for
refusal.
If the individual makes a request for a cigarette break, then reasonable timings
should be taken into consideration as above. The request cannot be denied but the
donor should be accompanied at all times and follow the company’s No Smoking
policy. The individual will be requested to sign a declaration to confirm that he/she
has not smoked for at least 20 minutes prior to the test as part of the breath testing
collection process.
It is also important to ensure that the ingestion of liquids and/or food stuffs is
controlled whilst the donor awaits a collector to arrive on site. If the individual
insists that they must have a drink of water or something to eat, the following
restrictions apply and all information must be recorded:

no more than 1 x 300ml bottle of sealed water – the brand name, lot number
and expiry date must be logged

no more than 1 x glass of water from a water cooler – this MUST be witnessed
by a responsible manager and recorded

food should be given to the donor from a reliable source, preferably pre-packed
– the brand name, type of food, amount of food and expiry date must be
logged.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 16
This form must be completed in full if the employee/contractor ingests any liquids
and/or food stuff whilst awaiting the arrival of a collection officer for a drug and/or
alcohol test.
Employee /contractor declaration
I declare that I have ingested the following liquids and/or food stuffs provided to me
by the company representative as outlined in the company Substance Misuse Policy.
Brand of water:
Brand/type of food:
Lot no:
Lot no:
Expiry date:
Expiry date:
Amount:
Amount:
To be signed in the presence of a witness
Employee
Name:
Date:
Signed:
Company representative
Name:
Date:
Signed:
Witness
Name:
Date:
Signed:
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Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
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Record of the assessment of a situation where an employee is and suspected of and
reported for being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at work.
Employee name:
Date of birth:
Job title:
Site:
Incident reporter:
Job title:
Reason for the report (what has happened? what has been observed?):
Signature of incident reporter:
Date:
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Effective date: 1 October 2015
Time:
Last review: May 2016
Page 18
Manager’s assessment of the situation
The above named employee has been reported to me as outlined above and I have
made the following assessment
Review the I’M SAFE checklist to assess if the employee is displaying any of the
following signs:
There is evidence of alcohol use at work (brief detail)
(e.g. empty/half full bottles found at workplace)
Yes/no
Drug paraphernalia has been found at the workplace
(provide details of what was found and where)
Yes/no
The incident was reported to:
Name:
Job title:
Date:
Time:
Action taken by manager:
Has an alcohol breath test been carried out?
Yes/no
Result:
Has a drugs screening test been carried out?
Yes/no
Result:
Manager’s signature:
Manager’s name:
Date:
Time:
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Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
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Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
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Appendix I
Decision logic for managing non-negative results
No
Is the
employee/contractor
a SCW?
Leave in role
ensuring they do not
go to live projects or
undertake any safety
critical activities until
lab results returned
Can the role be
adjusted so not
undertaking SCW
activities?
Yes: accommodate
and leave in role
Can the role be
adjusted so not
undertaking SCW
activities?
No – stand down
/remove from role
until results
confirmed from
laboratory
Yes
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 21
Appendix J
FAQ for Drugs and alcohol policy
1
How are people selected for
unannounced random
testing?
Prior to the collection officer arriving on site, s/he will obtain a list from
the all personnel on site on the day of testing from the security logs and
people will be randomly selected to be tested.
2
Is the employee required to
give permission for a D&A
test?
Yes. However, the employee should be made aware that a refusal to be
screened will be regarded as an unreasonable response and treated as a
failed test result. Such an outcome constitutes gross misconduct and is
subject to disciplinary action that may lead to dismissal.
3
Why is it necessary to
randomly screen employees
and contractors when there
are no obvious grounds to
suspect the use of drugs, or
an alcohol dependency?
There is clear statistical evidence to suggest that workers attend work
under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
What should I do if I am
taking prescribed medication
but wish to attend for work?
In the first instance you should either advise your GP of your job role and
any relevant circumstances pertaining to operating plant and equipment
or operating in a potentially dangerous environment, e.g. near railway
lines. The GP can then decide whether it is appropriate for you to work
normally, or recommend alternative arrangements. In the case of you
taking over the counter medication, then you should carefully read the
directions for use. See Appendix D.
In either case you must notify your line manager before starting duty of
the medication involved, so that s/he may seek advice from Occupational
Health before allowing you to work.
4
Skanska is committed to maintaining the safest possible work
environment and to attaining a level of zero accidents. By applying every
reasonable measure to ensure that employees and contractors attend
work in a fit state is one of many ways for ensuring the achievement of
this objective.
This requirement is particularly relevant where the job holder works in a
safety critical role, or environment.
5
If I am receiving support as a
consequence of declaring
that I have an alcohol or
drugs related problem, will I
be subjected to on-going
screenings?
Yes. The support offered will be reliant upon you accepting appropriate
professional help and is conditional upon you adhering to the guidance
offered. Attending work whilst under the influence of either alcohol or
drugs will be considered as gross misconduct and will inevitably lead to
disciplinary action and probable dismissal. To ensure you are complying
with the arrangements under which support is provided, you be subjected
to a regular regime of screening, until it considered that you are no
longer present a risk to yourself and others.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 22
6
If I consume a few drinks, the
night before starting an early
turn, is there a risk that I may
be over the limit when
arriving at work?
Yes there is. Depending on a number of factors alcohol can stay in your
system for a significant period. As a rough guide, it takes a healthy liver in
an average male about one hour to break down a single unit of alcohol.
For an average female, it takes one and a half hours to dissipate the same
amount of alcohol.
7
If an individual takes
recreational drugs, such as
cannabis, whilst on vacation
is there any possibility that
the substance could be
detected several days later
s/he resumes work?
As with alcohol, there are many factors that determine the period of time
drugs can remain present in the body. Some drugs, including cannabis,
can be detected weeks after consumption and therefore a random
screening conducted in such circumstances could easily achieve a positive
result.
8
If I am taking prescribed, or
over the counter medication
and I am selected for a
random screening, is it
possible that I will provide a
non-negative (positive)
screening result?
This is possible. If your result indicate a non-negative results you will be
asked about any medications you are taking. Any results that is non
negative will require further laboratory analysis and therefore the
collection officer will ensure this information about your medication is
noted with the sample. Better still advise your manager of any medication
you are taking so that an assessment of risk can be conducted. Taking
more than prescribed can affect performance and may be regarded as a
mis-use or abuse.
9
Will I be able to continue
working whilst the business
is waiting for the laboratory
results are returned?
This depends on whether your role or activities are classified as safety
critical. In the interests of health and safety the default position will be to
remove an employee from performing a safety critical role, or being in a
live operational environment, or driving a vehicle, pending confirmation
of the screening results. However, there are situations that will allow a
safety critical worker to continue working, pending receipt of the test
results, and these are referred to in page 5 of the procedure and
Appendix I.
10
What will happen if the
result of the laboratory test
is positive?
In such circumstances, it will be regarded as gross misconduct and you be
suspended from duty immediately and be liable to disciplinary action that
you could result in your employment being terminated.
11
How will I know that my
sample that is sent for
analysis is not compromised?
A process known as ‘chain of custody’ applies that ensures samples are
clearly identifiable with the actual donor. It also provides an audit trail for
the sample sent for analysis in order to safeguard its identity and integrity
from collection through to reporting of the test results. The process is
auditable to ensure compliance are compliant with leading to the
production of a legally defensible report. The laboratory will hold your
sample for upto 1 year in case of dispute or wish to organise independent
testing at your own cost.
12
Under what circumstances
might a manager instigate a
‘For cause’ screening for an
employee?
Where an employee or contractor is suspected of being under the
influence of alcohol or drugs in the workplace, or in unauthorised
possession of such items, then the manager will arrange for the screening
agency to be called and for the individual to be properly quarantined
pending their arrival.
13
Where a screening is due to
See Appendix G.
It should not be ignored that many recreational drugs are illegal and
there is a significant risk of prosecution if such substances are consumed
whilst at work.
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 23
take place, for reasons of
cause, what actions need to
be complied with whilst
waiting for the testing
agency?
Drugs and alcohol policy
Date of issue: September 2015
Effective date: 1 October 2015
Last review: May 2016
Page 24