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May 26 2016

One in Five Employees 'Regularly ' Uses Drugs

"One in five UK employees admits to regularly taking drugs, and a third suspect that a colleague may have a drug problem, according to new research that suggests the increase in the use of illegal substances may be starting to make itself felt in the workplace. The study of 500 employees and 500 employers, from Crossland Employment Solicitors, found that just two in five firms (40%) have a drugs policy and only 23% have tested their staff for drug use. But Aron Pope, partner at law firm Fox Williams, said employers must have ""good reason"" to justify testing their employees for drug use. ""Because of the intrusive nature of drug testing, employers must have a good reason to justify a policy of testing staff, and should always consider whether there is a less intrusive means of monitoring employees,"" he said. Pope reminded HR professionals that ""in view of their health and safety obligations, employers are able to take action to deal with employees who use drugs outside of work in certain circumstances""."