When an alcohol test result or a suspected drinking situation arises, two kinds of documents usually operate together at a workplace. The rules of employment set out the conduct standards workers must follow and the standards for personnel handling, while the safety and health management regulations set out how safety and health are managed to reduce risks that can arise during work. If both documents contain alcohol-related clauses, they may not be asking the same question even when dealing with the same incident.
For example, at a workplace that uses an interlock, which controls vehicle starting based on a breath test result, or a standard breathalyzer, you need to read the work assignment right after a test result and the subsequent personnel procedure separately. The safety and health management regulations may deal with whether someone can be deployed that day to hazardous work such as driving or working at height, while the rules of employment may deal with the procedure for reviewing whether there was a violation. Reading the wording of the two side by side reduces the confusion of an on-site safety measure being taken as if it were a finalized disciplinary decision.
First separate the questions each document answers
The alcohol clauses in the safety and health management regulations center on how to prevent risks during work. They can set out the day's safety actions, such as whether to keep someone from a particular task and reassign them based on a test result or on-site observation, and whom the safety staff should notify. What matters in this document is whether the process for not letting someone continue hazardous work actually works.
The alcohol clauses in the rules of employment can deal with different questions, such as workers' duties, how a violation is established, the opportunity to explain, and subsequent personnel handling. So the mere fact that safety staff changed a work assignment should not be read as meaning a violation or disadvantage under the rules of employment has already been settled. Conversely, delaying a necessary safety measure that day because a personnel procedure is under review also does not fit the purposes of the two documents.
Cross-check whether the same terms mean the same thing
If words such as "hold," "unfit," "alcohol confirmed," and "return" recur in both sets of rules, it is good to check what each word refers to and what action it means. A "work hold" in the safety and health management regulations may mean not driving a particular vehicle or doing hazardous work that day. If a "hold" in the rules of employment means a measure until an investigation or personnel review is finished, the word is the same but the scope of the decision and the person responsible differ.
In particular, wording that links a warning on the breathalyzer screen, a site manager's report, and the HR department's judgment as if they were a single conclusion is worth examining. The device result is the result at the time of testing, the site manager judges the safety of the work assignment, and the personnel procedure can review separate standards and procedures set out in the rules of employment. Putting a disciplinary conclusion in advance into on-screen guidance or site notification wording can blur the distinction between test results and subsequent judgments.
| Item to look at together | What to check in the safety and health management regulations | What to check in the rules of employment |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol-related results | Standards for stopping or changing assignment to hazardous work | Standards for reviewing whether there was a conduct violation |
| Who decides on action | Who adjusts on-site work and to whom they report | The department or body that runs the personnel decision procedure |
| Notification of results | The fact of the day's work change and necessary safety guidance | Guidance on follow-up procedures such as explanations and objections |
Separating things as in the table reduces the risk of wrongly copying a measure under one document as a conclusion under the other. For example, a site report could record the actual measure, such as "removed from morning vehicle driving duties and assigned alternative work," while personnel-related documents record separately what procedure follows.
Check the flow with a hypothetical case
As a hypothetical case, suppose a worker who drives a delivery vehicle gets a result that does not meet the standard in a pre-shift test. The observations a site manager should check first are the time of the test, where it was taken, the work scheduled at that time, and whether driving a vehicle is required. What is immediately established here is the safety question of whether it is appropriate for that worker to perform driving duties at that point, not whether a sanction under the rules of employment has been settled.
Based on this result, a possible action is to assign the day's driving duties to someone else or switch the worker to duties that do not require driving. Next, the fact of the test and the duties actually changed can be passed through the designated reporting channel, and if the rules of employment contain an alcohol-related follow-up procedure, that procedure can be started separately. Here it fits each document's role for the site staff to report the fact that "driving duties were changed," without drawing a conclusion on a personnel violation in place of others.
The completion criteria in this case are also split in two. On the safety side, the criterion is whether the worker was kept from hazardous work that day and the necessary work adjustments were completed. On the personnel side, a separate criterion is whether, where applicable, the confirmation, notification, explanation, or review procedures set out in the rules of employment were carried out in the way the document states.
When amending, also align cross-references and effective dates
If you change the alcohol clauses in one set of rules, you also need to look at the terms cited in the other document, site notices, and the wording of report forms. If the safety and health management regulations say "removal from hazardous work" but the rules of employment or a notice say something like "confirmed as subject to discipline," staff may misunderstand the nature of the safety measure. When the two documents have different effective dates, you can also set out from which date which wording and procedures apply.
Article 26 of Korea's Occupational Safety and Health Act requires an employer to go through deliberation and resolution by the occupational safety and health committee when drafting or amending safety and health management regulations. At workplaces without an occupational safety and health committee, the consent of the employee representative must be obtained. Because this procedure concerns drafting and amending safety and health management regulations, when you also revise the wording of the rules of employment, it is important not to lump the safety and health management regulations procedure and the review related to the rules of employment together as the same task.
Clearly communicate the boundaries of judgment to the site
In practical guidance, it helps to state specifically who adjusts the work when a test result comes out, who passes on which facts, and where the personnel-related review takes place. Rather than writing something abstract like "take the necessary measures," writing the action, such as "do not assign vehicle driving duties and notify the site supervisor," lets staff act immediately.
You can also inform staff separately that the safety procedure when a test result comes out and the follow-up procedure under the rules of employment may differ. Organizing things this way keeps temporary work adjustments made for safety from being exaggerated into personnel conclusions, and conversely reduces the problem of matters that need personnel review ending as a simple on-site measure. Whether the two documents conflict, and how they apply in individual cases, remain areas to be reviewed separately based on the wording and the facts.
※ This article is general information and not legal advice on any individual matter. For specific cases, consult a lawyer or other professional. Laws may be amended, so check the latest version at the Korea Law Information Center.
