We have a new drug and alcohol policy at work. Should my employer be training everyone about it?

The simple answer is yes.

If this policy is new or is introducing new and/or revised provisions to a policy which already exists, then your employer should draw these changes to the attention of all those who might be effected by the changes.

This information sharing is vitally important if your employer is likely to rely upon the provisions of the policy to discipline employees, who fall foul of the provisions, and who might consequently lose their jobs. Employment tribunals will take a dim view of an employer dismissing employees for breaches of procedures that they know little about.

It is also vitally important that your employer trains, or retrains, all those individuals who might be responsible for administering the new procedure.