Grant Wilkinson, Senior Consultant and Branch Manager of Global Cape Town recently contributed to the Juta Law Publication: Alcohol, Drugs & Employment.

Under acknowledgements, they’ve written:

“A thank you to Mr Grant Wilkinson from Global Business Solutions who provided material used in the legal chapters but also gave useful advice on the health chapters from a legal perspective”.

About this Publication:
Alcohol, Drugs & Employment is the new edition of the popular Alcohol, Employment & Fair Labour Practice. Like its predecessor, this book is a practical guide for labour lawyers, employers, trade unions, HR managers and occupational health professionals who must grapple with the problems of substance abuse in the workplace.

Alcohol, Drugs & Employment explains the case law on substance abuse in South Africa and also provides a useful international legal comparison. The book recommends procedures for identifying, controlling and treating substance abuse. It includes templates and procedural guidelines for pre-employment testing, employee testing and fair disciplinary action. Alcohol, Drugs & Employment also sets out the procedure for introducing and implementing a comprehensive substance-abuse policy in the workplace.

Contents Include:
A framework for analysing alcohol problems in the workplace
The extent of the problem – alcohol
Drugs and drug abuse – an introduction
Extent of the problem – drugs
Causes of the problem – psychosocial, environmental and cultural
The risk assessment approach: managing alcohol and drug misuse within the organisation
The effects of alcohol on the individual
The effects of drugs
Objective ways of identifying trends of substance abuse problems in the workplace
Legal obligations of employees, employers and trade unions
Testing – identifying alcohol and drug problems and intoxication in the individual employee
Legal aspects of pre-employment screening
Legal aspects of testing employees
Fair discipline
The role of the occupational health professional
Treatment – the employee patient
Treatment of the organisation
Treatment – employee assistance programmes
The workplace as a setting for substance abuse prevention initiatives
Introducing new alcohol and drug procedures and rules
Proposed substance abuse policy and procedural agreement
Appendixes
– Protocol for breathalyser testing
– Protocol for blood testing
– Questionnaires used to screen for alcohol and drug misuse
– Protocol for urine testing
– Units and formulae
– Example of a letter to non-unionised employees regarding the introduction of an updated alcohol and drugs policy
– Glossary of medical terms
– Strategy for managing alcohol and drug problems
– Verification of alcohol intoxication form
– Verification of drug intoxication form
– Alternative alcohol and drug policy
– Table of symptoms and signs of alcohol and drug problems
Of Interest and Benefit to:
Labour lawyers
Employers
Trade unions
HR managers
Occupational health professionals
Key Benefits:
Presents both medical and legal perspectives on substance abuse in the workplace
Provides useful guidelines on lawful medical testing of job applicants and employees
Contains practical guidelines, protocols and policy templates
Assists employers and trade unions to introduce and implement workplace policies on substance abuse
Contains a useful international perspective by way of comparison with Canadian workplace law