Drug & alcohol misuse | CIPD calls on firms to provide training

One in five employers are failing to offer proactive support to workers to help prevent and provide support on issues of drugs and alcohol misuse, according to the latest research from the CIPD.

The report, titled Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work, found that few employers currently train managers on their organisation’s drug and alcohol policies. Just 12% provide one-off training for line managers and only one-quarter provide regular refresher training.

Further to this, just 26% train managers to recognise the symptoms of drug and alcohol problems, whilst only 32% cover improving management practice more generally, for example how to manage and support employees.

The findings are particularly poignant considering just over one-third of employers have disciplined a worker in the past two years for alcohol misuse and just over one-quarter for drug misuse.