A council has banned its staff from taking drugs and alcohol at work, as it, until now, has not had a “robust policy” on imbibing these intoxicants.
Wokingham Borough Council covers the town, Earley and Woodley and the surrounding villages.
Until recently, it did not have a “clear and robust policy” on alcohol and substance misuse.
But that changed on Monday, July 27, when the council’s employment and staffing committee approved an Alcohol and Substance Misuse Policy.
A report by Sally Haliwell, head of human resources (HR) at the council, admits: “At present the council does not have a clear and robust policy, and it is recommended as good practice in the workplace.
“It introduces a zero tolerance policy for alcohol and substance misuse for anyone representing the council, including volunteers, contractors, agency workers and casual workers.”
Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst), the council leader, said: “This is very welcome.
“This is very much the standard which any organisation would expect of its employees, in terms of the support it gives, but also the expectations it has.”
Cllr Prue Bray (Liberal Democrats, Winnersh), deputy leader, said: “I’d say it’s relatively uncontroversial. Is there non-zero incidents in the last five years?”
Louise Livingstone, the council’s HR director, said: “I think that all workforces have a few things that they have to deal with. I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly bad problem that we have, it’s just making sure we safeguard our workforce.”
The policy was unanimously approved at the meeting.
