Alcohol and drug policies for heavy vehicle operators
Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs can pose serious health and safety risks to you and others on the road. You may also face heavy penalties.
All workplaces (no matter their size) should have a comprehensive alcohol and other drugs policy to help manage these risks.
Your policy should clearly explain:
- employer, supervisor and employee responsibilities
- information on how hangovers, comedown and intoxication can affect work
- how your organisation manages situations involving alcohol and drugs, including events with alcohol and people taking medication
- whether drug testing is conducted, actions following a positive employee test result, and employee support
- how to determine if someone is unfit for work due to alcohol and drugs, and what to do in these situations
- steps to manage an employee’s return to work after they have been deemed unfit.
Free policy builder toolkit
To help you with your workplace policy we’ve created a free nine-question policy builder to help create your customised comprehensive workplace policy.
We created it specially for the heavy vehicle industry, with input from industry experts and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
View the employer guide PDF to see these questions before using the policy builder. The guide covers:
- how to involve your workplace in developing your policy
- questions and issues to consider
- additional material that will be added to your policy
- steps for putting your policy into practice.
Consult with employees
Involve employees when developing and implementing your policy. Good consultation helps ensure your employees take ownership of workplace safety, and is a requirement under the OH&S Act 2004 (Vic).
Visit the WorkSafe Victoria website for consultation guidance.
Use our employee education resources to help you communicate your policy clearly to employees.
Access our free eLearning course for employees and other resources to help you communicate and put your policy into practice.
Drug testing
Workplace drug testing can screen for a range of drugs that affect driving performance. These include:
- alcohol
- illicit drugs
- some legal drugs.
Alcohol and drug testing is not compulsory within the heavy vehicle industry.
Drivers are, however, subject to other companies' testing policies when on their premises.
If you choose to undertake workplace drug testing:
- make sure it is included in your alcohol and drug policy
- be clear about how, and under what circumstances, drug tests will occur
- explain what will happen after a positive test
- have plans in place for employees to get home safely after a positive test.
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For more information, or if you have a question, contact us by emailing [email protected].