Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CANADIAN HR REPORTER WEEKLY e legalization of cannabis in Canada is now mere weeks away, but are employers ready? Not entirely, according to a survey of 366 HR professionals and 1,008 Canadians. One-third of employers feel prepared for legal cannabis, while another third feel somewhat prepared. But only one in four Canadians (26 per cent) feel their employers are ready — and many simply don't know. "ere's an awareness that they need to get on top of it, but there's still a large subset of employers that are remaining in the wait-and-see mode," said Alex Boucher, principal and total health management leader for Canada at Mercer. "A lot of it is no one knows what to anticipate, and it's still such an evolving legislative framework that some of them are probably worried to do something and then, as the rules change, having to do it again." But that gap will be filled by media and noise if an employer isn't prepared, he said. "It's one thing to have your policy updated but it's another thing to be able to answer questions from a bunch of employees who now may perceive they have rights that they didn't have yesterday, or from those employees who are fundamentally against this legalization, and are going to start to point out everyone's behaviour and accuse their workers of being stoned. How are (employers) going to deal with those?" Changing policies e majority of employers surveyed (90 per cent) plan to update their drug and alcohol or substance-use policy, but few are planning to update other relevant policies, such as code of conduct (38 per cent) and disability accommoda- tion (37 per cent), said Mercer. It's potentially short-sighted to simply add cannabis to a drug and alcohol policy, said Boucher. "If (employers are) going to take the step and review the policy anyway, they're much better to become agnostic to the cause of the impairment, so change from a drug and alcohol policy to an impairment policy where (it's): 'We don't want you at work impaired but we encourage you to identify impairment. If your impairment is a result of a medical condition, a treatment or a social situation, we'll do our best to accommodate, and here's how we're going to do that. But if it's not — if it's due to behaviour we prohibit under the code of conduct like use of drugs and alcohol — we will address it on a disciplinary route.'" Employers should use the legalization of cannabis as a catalyst for a broader discussion on impairment, said Boucher. "When you look at impairment from cannabis, which is cognitive and psychomotor impairment, it also is the same kind of impairment that is present in many significant workplace issues, like opioid use, like mental health issues, like someone who may be sleep-deprived," he said. "If you can create an effective impairment policy that can identify and address impairment, and then the actions you take from it, you're well-positioned to deal with many, many significant workplace issues that have been complex for a long time." Cannabis is just one of many substances that cause impairment, said Jason Fleming, vice-president of HR at MedReleaf in Markham, Ont. "Rather than trying to focus on individual substances, it gives us this opportunity to speak more broadly about impairment and addiction, and try to characterize it Legal, medical cannabis still posing challenges for employers: Survey Employers need to boost communication to enlighten employees, say experts BY SARAH DOBSON Sign up for the Canadian HR Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian HR Reporter. HR News at Your Fingertips THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Visit www.hrreporter.com/ canadian-hr-newswire

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