Free toolbox talk · Drugs and alcohol

Drugs and alcohol toolbox talk

A toolbox talk on drugs and alcohol at work, written to be read aloud in about six minutes: why they matter on site, safety-critical work, the morning after, prescribed and over-the-counter medicines, the site policy and testing, and asking for help in confidence. The last page is the attendance record.

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PDF · 3 pages · 210 KB · Word 41 KB · Free to use and reuse · Terms

Attendance record page of the free drugs and alcohol toolbox talk from Unibuild, where each person signs to say they were given the talk and understood it

Front page of the free drugs and alcohol toolbox talk from Unibuild

Law: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 7
Time to deliver: About six minutes
Format: PDF and Word, with a sign-off sheet
Cost: Free, always

What this toolbox talk covers

This talk is for everyone on site. It takes about six minutes to give and covers why drugs and alcohol and site work do not mix, the jobs where one mistake can kill, how long alcohol stays in the body, medicines that cause drowsiness, what the site policy says including any testing, and how anyone with a problem can get help in confidence.

It is written to be read aloud, as a conversation about safety and support rather than a warning, with short lists of do and do not and questions for the team. The last page is the record: who gave it, who heard it and what was raised.

Drink, drugs and mental health often go together. The mental health toolbox talk covers spotting the signs and talking, and the driving for work toolbox talk covers the road.

Checked against HSE guidance and legislation.gov.uk on 28 October 2026.

Toolbox talk · About six minutes

Drugs and alcohol: the talk

Read it as written or in your own words. Keep it a conversation. Tick each point as you make it.

Why it matters

Construction is full of safety-critical work: driving, plant, lifting, ladders and scaffolds, power tools and live electrics. HSE points to jobs like driving and operating lifting equipment as the ones where drugs or alcohol can have the most serious outcome, for the person and for everyone around them.

Most of the time it is not someone drunk on site. It is the morning after a heavy night, a painkiller that makes you drowsy, or someone struggling quietly who has started drinking more to cope. HSE’s advice to employers is to treat a drug or alcohol problem with help and support. This talk is about keeping each other safe, and knowing help is there.

HSE, Managing drug and alcohol misuse at work

The points to make

Why it matters on site

Alcohol and drugs slow your reactions, affect judgement and balance, and make people take risks they would not take sober. On site that can mean a fall, a strike from a machine, a dropped load or a crash on the way home. The law says everyone at work takes reasonable care of themselves and of others their work affects. Coming to work impaired puts other people at risk too.

Safety-critical work

Some jobs leave no room at all for impairment: driving, operating plant and cranes, slinging and signalling, work at height, electrical work and anything near live traffic or rail. On rail and other guided transport it is a criminal offence to work while unfit through drink or drugs, with a legal alcohol limit. Know which of your jobs count as safety-critical.

The morning after

The average adult clears roughly one unit of alcohol an hour, and nothing speeds that up: not coffee, not a shower, not sleep. A night of several pints or a bottle of wine can still be in your blood when you start driving or climbing the next morning. Some drugs stay in the body for days. If you would not drive, do not work at height or operate plant.

Medicines count too

Some prescribed medicines, and some you buy at the chemist, such as strong painkillers, hay fever tablets and cough remedies, can make you drowsy or slow. Read the label and ask the pharmacist. If a medicine could affect your work, tell your supervisor, in confidence. You may be moved to other work for a while. That is about safety, not discipline.

The site rules and testing

Most site policies say no alcohol or drugs on site and no working while impaired, and set out what happens if the rules are broken. Possession or dealing at work is reported to the police. Some sites and principal contractors carry out testing, at random or after an incident, as part of the policy. Testing needs your consent, but refusing when there are good grounds may lead to disciplinary action.

Looking out for each other

If you think someone is not fit to work, such as smelling of drink, unsteady or not themselves, do not let them drive, climb or operate plant. Tell the supervisor quietly, out of earshot of the rest. The same signs can mean illness, stress or tiredness, so do not jump to conclusions. The aim is to keep everyone safe today, not to get anyone into trouble.

Help is there

HSE says drug and alcohol dependence are recognised medical problems, with the same right to confidentiality and support as any other condition. If you are worried about your own drinking or drug use, talk to your supervisor, your GP, the firm’s occupational health if there is one, FRANK on 0300 123 6600 or Drinkline on 0300 123 1110. Asking for help early is treated very differently from being found out.

Do

Come to work fit to work, and know your own limits the night before.
Read the label on medicines and tell your supervisor if they could make you drowsy.
Tell a supervisor quietly if you think someone is not fit for safety-critical work.
Stop anyone who may be impaired from driving, climbing or operating plant.
Know the site policy, including any testing.
Ask for help early if you are worried about your drinking or drug use.

Do not

Do not bring alcohol or drugs onto site, or work under their influence.
Do not drive, operate plant or work at height the morning after heavy drinking.
Do not assume someone who seems unwell is drunk. It could be illness or stress.
Do not cover for a workmate who is not fit to work. Tell someone, quietly.
Do not stop taking prescribed medicine without talking to your doctor.

Ask the team

Which jobs on this site would be most dangerous if someone was not fully fit?
How long do you think it takes to clear a heavy night out of your blood?
What would you do if a workmate turned up smelling of drink and was about to drive?
Does anyone take medicine that says it may cause drowsiness? Have you told someone?
Who could you talk to on this job if you were worried about your own drinking?

To close

Nobody comes to work planning to hurt themselves or anyone else. Drink and drugs make that more likely, even the morning after, even from a packet off the chemist’s shelf. So come in fit, be honest about medicines, and look out for each other quietly and fairly. If you think someone is not fit, keep them off safety-critical work and tell a supervisor. And if you are struggling yourself, ask for help early. It will be treated in confidence, and as a health problem.

Record it. Who gave the talk, where, when, who was there and what was raised. The last page of the sheet is the record.

In Unibuild a talk is read in each operative’s own language and signed on the phone. How toolbox talks work

The law behind this talk

Checked against the source

Employees’ duty of care

Every employee while at work takes reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work, and co-operates with their employer so far as is necessary to let the employer meet their legal duties.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 7

Drugs on premises

A person who is the occupier or concerned in the management of premises commits an offence if they knowingly permit or suffer the production or supply of a controlled drug, or certain other drug activities, on those premises.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, section 8

Rail and other guided transport

A person working on a transport system covered by the Act, in a capacity that can control or affect the movement of a vehicle, or in a maintenance capacity or as a supervisor or look-out for maintenance workers, commits an offence if unfit to carry out that work through drink or drugs, or over the prescribed alcohol limit.

Transport and Works Act 1992, section 27

What is on the sheet

3 pages, the talk and the record

The talk, over two pages

Why it matters, the points to make, do and do not, and the questions to ask, laid out to read from in the cabin or at the workface. Space at the top for the site, the date and who is giving it.

The last page, the record

The attendance record: each person's name, company and signature, the questions raised and any actions, signed off by the person who gave the talk. Type into it or print it and pass it round.

The Word version

The same talk as a Word document, so you can put your own letterhead on it, add a site photograph or change a point to match how your job is set up.

Download the talk as PDF Word versionPDF · 3 pages · 210 KB

After it is given

Delivered on the phone, signed in the room

On Unibuild a toolbox talk is picked from the library, read by each operative on their own phone in their own language and signed there and then. The record is filed against the operative, the site and the date.

A site manager sees who has had which talk, and who has not, without a sheet going round on Thursday.

How toolbox talks work on Unibuild

Asked most often

Drugs and alcohol toolbox talk questions

How long should a drugs and alcohol toolbox talk be?

About five to ten minutes. This one reads in about six if you make every point and stop for the questions. Give it at induction, at the start of a job, and before the holiday season, and keep it about safety and support rather than a lecture.

Is it illegal to be drunk at work?

For most jobs there is no specific criminal offence of being drunk at work, but employees have a legal duty under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act to take reasonable care of themselves and others. On rail and other guided transport, working while unfit through drink or drugs is a criminal offence. Driving over the limit is an offence everywhere.

How long does alcohol stay in your system?

The NHS says the average adult processes around one unit of alcohol an hour, and this varies from person to person. Nothing speeds it up. Several pints or a bottle of wine late at night can still be in the blood the next morning.

Can an employer test for drugs and alcohol?

Yes, as part of an agreed policy, usually for safety-critical work. HSE says employees must consent to a test, cannot be made to take one, but may face disciplinary action if they refuse when the employer has good grounds. Testing must be done properly so samples cannot be contaminated or tampered with.

Do I have to tell my employer about prescribed medicine?

There is no general legal duty to disclose, but if a medicine could affect your ability to drive, operate plant or work at height safely, you should tell your supervisor so the work can be adjusted. It is treated in confidence.

What should you do if a workmate seems drunk or high on site?

Keep them away from driving, plant, height and other safety-critical work, and tell the supervisor quietly. Do not confront them in front of others. The signs can also be caused by illness, a head injury or stress, so the supervisor checks before deciding what happens next.

What happens if someone asks for help with a drink or drug problem?

HSE advises employers to treat it as a health problem with the same confidentiality and support as any other condition, to encourage help from a GP or specialist service, and to consider time off. Someone in a safety-critical job may be moved to other work for a while.

Do we have to keep a record of the talk?

There is no regulation that names toolbox talk records, but employers must give information, instruction and training, and most principal contractors and auditors ask for the evidence. A signed attendance record with the date and the topic is that evidence. The last page of the sheet is the record.

Is this drugs and alcohol toolbox talk free?

Yes. Download it, print it, give it, edit it and put your own name on it, including on paid work and for clients, with no sign-up and no email address.

More free toolbox talks

Each with a PDF and Word sheet and an attendance record

People and wellbeingMental health toolbox talkConstruction workers are at higher risk of suicide. Spotting the signs, talking, and where to get help. Site, fire and housekeepingDriving for work toolbox talkVehicle checks before the journey, defects, loads, phones, tiredness, speed and what to do after a collision. Site, fire and housekeepingFirst aid toolbox talkWho the first aiders are, where the kit is, what to do and not do while help comes, and recording every injury.

Falls and access

Health and hazardous substances

Site, fire and housekeeping

Plant, tools and electricity

People and wellbeing

The blank toolbox talk template, the toolbox talk register, every talk by topic and every other free form are on Free downloads.

Next step

The talk given, understood
and on record.

Unibuild keeps every toolbox talk against the operative who signed it, the site and the date, for seven years, ready for the principal contractor or an auditor.

Book a demo → See toolbox talks on Unibuild