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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
Eight short modules covering effects, impairment, the employer's duties, and how a policy should work in practice.
Why it matters at work
Impairment, safety-critical work and the risk to the person and everyone around them.
Alcohol
Units, how long alcohol stays in the system, and why the morning after is the common problem.
Drugs
Illegal drugs, misuse of prescription medicine and the effects on performance.
Prescription and over-the-counter medicines
Medication that impairs, and why telling your employer matters.
Recognising impairment
Signs in behaviour, appearance and performance, and avoiding assumptions.
Policies and testing
What a substance policy usually contains, and how testing regimes work.
Support rather than punishment
Treating dependency as a health issue, and where to signpost someone.
Reporting concerns
Raising a concern about a colleague safely and appropriately
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain why impairment at work is a safety issue
- Recognise the signs of impairment without jumping to conclusions
- Understand how long alcohol affects performance
- Say why medication needs to be declared for safety-critical work
- Follow a substance policy correctly
- Raise a concern about a colleague appropriately
- Signpost someone towards support
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
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
Substance issues frequently sit alongside mental health difficulties. See the Mental Health and Wellbeing course →
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 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued the moment you finish.
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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