D&A Policy - HQ Roles

[trackside7]

Evening all

To start with, and I want to be very clear - it makes 100% sense to declare anything taken for safety-critical operational roles.

Discussion point: Is it silly to declare that you've taken paracetamol, ibuprofen, diarrhoea relief, etc., working in a TOC/FOC head office role?

Potential situation: You didn't declare you'd taken paracetamol working in your TOC office role and had a random drug screen. What would happen? (I appreciate answers may differ by TOC/FOC).

I'm keen to hear your thoughts.

 

[Papa]

Yes, your employer can't discrimiate against you for taking medication for a health condition and if its not safetly critical there is no need to declare it.

 

[ComUtoR]

Yes, your employer can't discrimiate against you for taking medication for a health condition

There wouldn't be any discrimination. As any policy would be universal to all. You also aren't disciplined for the health condition. Failing to declare medication would be the breach of policy and subject to disciplinary.

and if its not safetly critical there is no need to declare it.

Weirdly this came up the other day. I was speaking to someone about it and they said they weren't sure. As far as I'm aware. ALL our employees are subject to D&A testing, safety critical or otherwise. It would be down to the individual terms and conditions of employment to determine if medication needs to be declared or restricted in your role.

Potential situation: You didn't declare you'd taken paracetamol working in your TOC office role and had a random drug screen. What would happen? (I appreciate answers may differ by TOC/FOC).

I'm keen to hear your thoughts.

When you take a D&A test you are asked to declare any medication you have taken. Some medicines, such as co-codamol, are readily available but will show on a drugs screen. Failure to declare will almost certainly lose you your job.

Not forgetting that D&A screening isn't just about being safety critical. If your turning up to work pissed out your head or high on meth then you will most likely lose your job too.

 

[PupCuff]

By rights, many TOC policies would say, yes you should, and if we're talking the sniffles or a headache, usually a nod across the desk to let your gaffer or whoever know that you've had a paracetamol would be the end of the matter.

In reality, most non-safety critical staff won't be subject to random screening so you'd either have to be involved in an incident (rare for non-operational head office staff but not unheard of) or someone have reason to suspect you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
D&A screening isn't looking for (to use it as an example) paracetamol, it's looking for evidence of drugs of abuse, so if you're taking something a bit more complicated than paracetamol there is the chance it could break down into one of the substances that the tests do look for and flag up a false positive.

Declaring medication is important not just for drug screens but also to support your welfare and wellbeing too; my medication changes reasonably regularly and its always a good conversation starter with the gaffer to check in and see how I'm doing generally and how any changes in meds have affected me etc.

 

[Spartacus]

I don't think there's any need to routinely declare if you had a paracetamol/aspirin/lemsip etc, I think the department dealing with them would be overwhelmed instantly if all staff were required to do that, though if you do get pulled for testing that's the time to say you've had something, even if it's something very minor like the above, but that should be asked at the time anyway.