Risk Assessment and Prevention Principles
A drug and alcohol policy at the workplace fits into the general system of labour safety: at every stage of the work, in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to health, the employer must, in accordance with the procedure established by ministerial administrative-legal act and in view of the size and specifics of the enterprise, assess this risk, update the risk-assessment document and take appropriate measures. The assessment and the measures rest on general principles: avoiding existing risks; assessing those risks that cannot be avoided; reducing the danger, including by eliminating its source; substituting hazardous factors with safe or less dangerous ones; developing a policy of consistent preventive measures; and preparing a written document defining the measures, their deadlines, the persons responsible and the resources required.
The priorities within this system are equally clear: collective protective measures are given priority over individual protection unless legislation provides otherwise. This means the enterprise first seeks to protect against the source of danger by reducing or altering the hazardous environment itself, and only then turns to personal protection. The employer must provide employees with appropriate training and instruction, ensure the adaptation of the work — in terms of the layout of the working space, equipment and methods — and keep the risk-assessment document in the prescribed manner.
The Employer's Concrete Duties
Flowing from the risk assessment, the employer is obliged to define in writing, on the basis of the distribution of functions, obligations and responsibilities in the sphere of labour safety; to admit to risky workplaces only persons who have undergone special training or instruction; to identify and register hazardous workplaces; to ensure the continuous functioning of protection and control systems; to provide information to the supervisory body on demand; to equip the enterprise with collective protection; and to provide employees and other persons free of charge with effective individual protective means wherever necessary for the protection of life or health.
Preliminary and periodic medical examinations are likewise conducted in the cases provided by law — which, in the context of a sobriety policy, means that managing intoxication-related risks relies also on instruments of medical control and not only on administrative prohibitions. The decisive norm for a sobriety policy is the following: the employer is obliged not to admit to work an employee or other person who is in a state of alcoholic, narcotic or psychotropic intoxication, and for this purpose to define, by internal regulatory norms, a group of persons authorized to supervise this process. The prohibition of working while intoxicated is thus not only the employee's own duty but also the employer's negative obligation — admitting such a person is forbidden.
The Employee's Obligations
On the employee's side the circle of duties is broad: to follow labour-safety instructions and comply with the working procedures established by the employer; to cooperate with the employer and employees' representatives in creating and maintaining a safe working environment; to use machinery, materials and hazardous substances in accordance with instructions, knowledge and qualification; not to switch off, alter or remove safety devices; to use individual protective means according to instructions; to report any defect immediately; to attend trainings; to undergo prophylactic medical examinations; and to observe the directions, instructions and recommendations of the employer, the labour-safety specialist, the enterprise physician and the supervisory body.
The core of the sobriety policy is the employee's direct prohibition: the employee must not appear at work in a state of alcoholic, narcotic, toxic or psychotropic intoxication and must not consume substances causing such a state during the performance of work. In addition, the employee is obliged to observe prohibitions on tobacco use in the working space and to care, within the limits of possibility, for the safety and health of oneself and of those affected by one's action or inaction.
Frequently Asked Questions on Sobriety Policy
Who bears the risk assessment?
The employer — who must assess the risk, update the corresponding document and take measures in the prescribed manner.
May one appear at work while intoxicated?
No — the employer is obliged not to admit a person in a state of alcoholic, narcotic or psychotropic intoxication, and the employee may not appear at work in such a state or consume such substances during work.
Who controls the sobriety process?
A group of employees or other persons defined by the employer through internal regulatory norms supervises the process.
What does the employer pay for individual protection?
The employer equips employees and other persons in the working space free of charge with necessary effective protective means wherever life or health requires protection.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Building a sobriety policy correctly means updating the risk-assessment document, writing internal norms in a lawful format and defining the control group. The Legal.ge team will assist the employer in preparing the policy document and the employee in defending their rights where prohibitions are misapplied. Contact us — we will assemble a set of decisions fitting your situation.