The statistics taken from Department of Labor statistics from the United States Department of Labor indicate that the use of illicit drugs is 17.4 percent for industries that deal with food. This is as compared to the average national rate of 8.2 percent. The use of alcohol in the restaurant industry is high at 12.1 percent, which is higher than the average national rate of 8.8 percent. There is still a lot to be accomplished to lower these numbers for all restaurant proprietors. A well-designed policy on alcohol and drugs is a key tool in the arsenal of the fight against alcohol and drugs. alcohol. Effective alcohol and drug policies and procedures will save your restaurant an unimaginable amount of cash in workers’ compensation, training funds overall productivity and morale, and theftTennessee abc class.
Helping employees who have an alcohol or drug problem is more economical than hiring an employee who is new. The process of hiring and firing and the subsequent training process, can be costly. You’ve put in thousands of dollars in training for your employees. It is not guaranteed that the new employee will not face the same difficulties. Sixty percent percent of employees can be successfully treated by seeking treatment.
Your supervisors and managers are provided by providing them with basic information on their roles in your policies and how they are implemented.
Through the hard knocks, I’ve developed my own personal employee policy on alcohol and drugs with my lawyers. I am not an attorney therefore I suggest that you seek advice from counsel. The document I have prepared safeguards me, my coworkers and employees and all the people who are in general. This document declares my commitment to work in a setting free of alcohol and substances. “We believe that the use of drugs or alcohol or being under the influence jeopardizes the welfare and safety of our employees and visitors, as well as our productivity and efficiency. Compliance with the following provisions of the workplace drug and alcohol policy is a condition of employment.” I present my idea for screening prior to employment. I define the sale, use or consumption of alcohol or drugs which includes both legal and illicit substances. I provide specific guidelines regarding what to do if employees are aware that a colleague is taking drugs. I also provide specific guidelines regarding not hiding from a coworker. I provide for searching and testing for alcohol or drugs for all employees , or for individual testing whenever necessary.
I give specific details about the type of disciplinary action that is to be taken. I offer a procedure for assistance programs for employees. It is essential to establish an assistance plan for employees. We have a referral program to assist employees suffering from addiction to alcohol or drugs. It is the duty for the individual to seek this out prior to when the alcohol or drug addiction results in discipline. If a violation is discovered then the subsequent recourse to the program of assistance may be irrelevant to the decision to discipline. The decision of the employee to seek assistance prior to the incident is not the basis for discipline; However, seeking assistance is not an excuse for the imposition of discipline. If there is an accident at work an employee must acknowledge that they’ll have to go through a drug and alcohol test. This might seem like legal jargon but it’s a necessity to safeguard yourself from legal action. There have been several instances when I believed that I was doing the right thing. I knew that one of the people I hired was an alcohol addict and had a problem with drinking. A month or year and one half later he was not at work on a particular day. I saw his photo on the front of the newspaper the day before and read that the police snatched him up during the parole sweep. He was drunk, and they sent him back to prison. He did not make it clear in his application that it was also parolee status. But, when being in the jail at Southern California, he filed for unemployment aid. I was able to contest the claim by showing evidence that he was detained and was even featured on one of the newspapers’ front pages. Although this was many years ago, that you’re aware of my surprise when I was informed that the employee was entitled to unemployment benefits. The rationale behind this choice was because I knew that he was an alcoholic at the time I took him on and pursuant to American Disabilities Act he had been found to be an alcoholic in the past, and was performing the same things alcohol addicts do. The court were actually in his favor.
Another experience I had was around one year earlier. I was served by a waitress who was without doubt, a high-potency user of drugs. She returned after a break and clearly was drunk. I was in an other eateries and my wife had called. We immediately escorted our server from the table. We inquired about her and was planning to send her to take an x-ray, but the server opted to leave the restaurant and heading home. I ultimately terminated her. When we had our unemployment hearing at the time, it was clear that the Administrative Law Judge was very focused on finding out the reasons why my staff didn’t summon an ambulance when we were concerned over her being under alcohol and risking her as well as other employees. Instead option, an Administrative Law Judge expressed her concerns about the manner in which this employee could be allowed to drive home. The outcome was that my restaurant lost the case since we didn’t have this policy in place.
These are a few aspects that you as an employer should consider. You must consider the length of time spent by an employee, the length of time they’ve been working for you, what do they typically would like to work with you and succeed? Are they a great employee, is their performance capable of recovery or do they need assistance? It is evident that there is a distinction between recovery and treatment. Anyone can seek treatment, however once they are you are in treatment and physically removed from alcohol or substances, the patient must accept assistance to address their issue. The well-known 12 Step programs talk about the process of admitting and surrender necessary to acknowledge an issue and the subsequent plan of action to remain off alcohol and drugs. Physically removing yourself from alcohol and drugs will be the initial step. After that, the recovery process begins.
There are a variety of 12 Step programs offered by Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, outpatient programs, and even churches. Recovery is dependent on the substance of the addiction and the extent to which your employee is willing to take it.
My personal experience has proven that my most productive employees are those who I put in the effort and invested to help them with their alcohol and drug problems. Some of them are in my company for more than twenty years because they’ve overcome the deepest levels of despair and discontent and were able to unite their families and be productive citizens again. They show up at work and provide a fair day of work to earn an honest pay day. As employers, it’s wonderful to observe and realize that you have the power to influence and improve the lives of others.