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Alcohol and Drug Awareness eLearning
Online alcohol and drugs at work training: recognising impairment, understanding the safety risk it creates, and following a policy fairly rather than punitively.
Who it is for
Who this alcohol and drug awareness course is for
Impairment at work is a safety issue before it is a disciplinary one. It includes prescription and over-the-counter medication as well as alcohol and illegal drugs. Most policies fail because nobody has explained them.
- Supervisors and line managers
- Safety-critical workers and their teams
- Drivers, plant operators and machine users
- HR teams applying a substance policy
- Construction, manufacturing and logistics staff
- Anyone subject to a drug and alcohol policy
Course content
What the alcohol and drug awareness course covers
Five short lessons covering why it matters, alcohol, drugs and medicines, recognising impairment, policies and testing, and support and reporting, then a 12-question assessment.
Why it matters at work
Impairment as a safety issue, and the legal duties on employers and employees.
Alcohol, drugs and medicines
Units and elimination, the morning after, illegal drugs, and prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
Recognising impairment
Possible signs, and why to avoid jumping to conclusions.
Policies and testing
What a policy says, testing with consent, confidentiality, and drug driving limits.
Support, and reporting concerns
Support rather than only punishment, raising a concern, and confidentiality.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain why alcohol and drugs are a workplace safety issue
- Understand units, elimination, illegal drugs and medicines
- Recognise possible signs of impairment without jumping to conclusions
- Explain what a policy covers and how testing works
- Offer support and raise a concern appropriately
Your legal duty
The law behind alcohol and drug awareness training
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable, and employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others. Knowingly allowing someone impaired to carry out safety-critical work sits squarely inside those duties.
Separate legislation applies in specific settings, the Road Traffic Act 1988 for driving, and transport-specific regimes for safety-critical roles in some industries. A workplace substance policy is a management control rather than a statutory requirement in itself.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 - sections 2, 3 and 7
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 - risk assessment
- Road Traffic Act 1988 - driving under the influence
- Substance policies and testing are management controls, not statutory requirements in themselves
Practicalities
How the course works
Would you rather have a tutor?
Substance issues frequently sit alongside mental health difficulties.
For employers
Alcohol and Drug Awareness training for a team
Policies are applied inconsistently when only HR has read them. Training supervisors and staff together is what makes the approach fair.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Alcohol and Drug Awareness eLearning: common questions
Yes, and it matters. Medication that causes drowsiness or affects concentration can impair safety-critical work just as much. That's why declaring it is part of most policies.
Testing regimes exist in many safety-critical industries and are governed by the employer's policy and the employee's consent. The course explains how they usually work rather than advising on your specific policy.
The course treats impairment at work as a safety matter and dependency as a health one. Most good policies do the same, with support routes alongside the disciplinary framework.
Raise it. Do not confront them and do not cover for them. The course covers how to report a concern safely and why silence is the more dangerous choice.
Longer than most people assume. The course covers why the morning after a heavy night is a common cause of impairment at work.
About 30 to 45 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued as soon as you pass the end assessment.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them. Completion reporting included.
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