Alcohol causes an estimated three to five percent of absences from work, equating to an estimated cost to business, in Northern Ireland, of £2.38m*.

It is difficult to ascertain the true cost of drug use in the workplace for Northern Ireland businesses, due to the range of impacts, however, research suggests substance misuse can cost employers up to 10% of annual payroll**.

At a population level, substance misuse is a major concern in Northern Ireland with 191 drug-related deaths registered in 2019, the highest number recorded since 1997. Almost half (45.5%) of these deaths were of men aged 25-44***.

Facilitated by ASCERT, one of the largest providers of drug and alcohol services in Northern Ireland, this session will give attendees a taster of ASCERT’s training and webinar programmes, discussing the effects of substance use, the implications for staff health and wellbeing in the workplace and support services available.

ASCERT is a regional charity with more than 20 years’ experience in providing education, training, youth and family intervention services and individual services for community, voluntary, statutory and private sector clients. ASCERT has access to a large pool of trainers and this collective expertise allows it to develop bespoke training solutions for customers that relate to substance misuse and related issues such as suicide awareness and mental health.

This session will explore the following:

• The impact of drugs and alcohol –what do you really know about the effects substance use?
• The implications for staff health and well-being, health and safety in the workplace and HR policies and procedures
• Support services available – how ASCERT can support your organisation with substance misuse, mental health, suicide awareness, best HR practice and other relevant consultancy/intervention services

How it works:

These sessions will take place online on Zoom. Attendees will be emailed a secure link to join following registration.

For more information, please email chloe.denning@bitcni.org.uk