Remote & Hybrid Work: Managing Drug & Alcohol Risk the Right Way (UK)

Hybrid work is no longer an experiment; it’s how a large share of UK organisations now operate. That shift brings obvious benefits, flexibility, retention, access to wider talent, and one uncomfortable reality: it’s harder to see problems early.

If alcohol, drugs, or impairing medication begin to affect performance or safety, you may not spot the warning signs until an error, a near-miss, or a complaint lands on your desk.

This isn’t about catching people out.

It’s about keeping people safe and keeping businesses compliant. Under UK health and safety law, your duty of care applies equally to home, hybrid and on-site workers. That means you must assess the risks, set clear expectations, and put proportionate controls in place, wherever work is done.

What’s really changed with hybrid work

In offices and on sites, colleagues will naturally notice when someone is off their game. At home however, subtle changes such as slower responses, uncharacteristic mistakes, avoidable absences are easier to miss. Working hours can blur into home life, making “a quick drink at lunch” feel harmless. Add in issues like prescription medicines and medical cannabis, and the picture becomes more complex. The question isn’t “Do you use?”; it’s “Are you fit for work and free from impairment while working?”

Your responsibilities, clear, practical, defensible

A solid approach starts with a risk assessment that reflects how your people actually work now. Identify roles and tasks where impairment would have serious consequences: driving, site visits, lone working, operating equipment, or high-stakes decisions.

Make sure your drug and alcohol policy explicitly covers hybrid and home working. Define what counts as working time, set a simple standard, no impairment during working hours, and explain how you’ll manage situations involving medication or medical cannabis.

Confidentiality and fairness matter. Test results are health data and covered by GDPR so restrict who has access to them, document your processes and apply it consistently. Employees also have responsibilities: to work safely, report concerns, and cooperate with risk controls. Spell that out. People respect clear lines.

What good looks like in practice

This should no longer be a taboo subject. It needs to be discussed more openly. So, start with clarity, communicate the standard your company expects its staff to work and adhere to and, if an issue arises, make sure managers can hold early, supportive conversations. Give them training and practical scripts to work from, focused on observable work impacts and not accusations: “I’ve noticed deadlines slipping and more errors than usual; can we talk about what’s going on and how we keep you safe and successful?”

When testing is necessary, make it risk-based and legally defensible.

For remote teams, that usually means for-cause, post-incident, return-to-duty, or targeted random testing for safety-critical roles, using accredited labs and proper chain of custody. By building the logistics now: rapid screening where appropriate, clear consent forms, couriered confirmation testing, and documented decision paths, you will not test more, you will test better.

Support must be real, not lip service. Provide a safe-harbour route for self-disclosure that leads to support, assessments, adjustments, and time-bound support plans, not automatic discipline. Where someone is willing and able to engage, rehabilitation protects the person and the business. Where they refuse or remain unsafe, your file shows a fair, reasonable process.

A simple 30-day implementation plan

Week 1: Update your risk assessments for hybrid patterns. Identify safety critical tasks. Map current policy and spot the gaps (working-time definition, medication/medical cannabis, testing triggers, disclosure routes).

Week 2: Redraft the policy. Build a manager’s playbook (conversation guides, escalation steps, documentation). Line up accredited testing partners and remote logistics.

Week 3: Brief managers and teams. Set expectations, explain support options, and confirm how testing works. Configure data handling: who sees what, for how long.

Week 4: Run a tabletop exercise: a realistic remote incident from first concern to resolution. Capture lessons, adjust, and schedule quarterly reviews.

(Or contact us for the help and support you need. We are experts at this and are always happy to support you and your team.)

For H&S, HR and Directors

If you only do one thing this quarter, make it this: set an explicit, fair standard, no impairment during working hours, wherever work happens. and back it with training, risk-based testing, and a credible support pathway. That’s Better Testing in a sentence.

In short: Hybrid work lowers visibility but not your duty of care. Replace punitive, blanket rules with a clear, support-first standard and risk-based controls. Better Testing protects people, reputation and results.