Drug Testing Explained

Drug use in this country has increased by frightening proportions in the last few years and it looks like this trend is set to continue as the cost of illegal drugs falls in real terms. This is a trend that industry can no longer afford to ignore.

Drug testing is now being embraced by an increasing number of companies who recognise the need for an effective answer to this problem.

Absenteeism, lateness, poor performance and the rising tide of accident claims can all have a disasterous effect on a firm's bottom line. A properly structured drug and alcohol policy, coupled with effective testing procedures has demonstrated time and again to be effective in dealing with these issues.

Workplace Drug Testing is the name given to Health Care programmes in which the employees in a company or business provide a urine, oral or hair samples for analysis with the specific aim of determining whether any substances may be present which could affect their safety or behaviour in the workplace. As such a workplace testing programme should be part of the company substance misuse policy (drug and alcohol policy). Such a programme will aim to detect any person who has taken alcohol or certain specified drugs before arriving at work. The programme of testing can involve one or more of the four following scenarios:

• Pre-employment,
• For cause 
• Follow-up testing,
• Unannounced or random

Pre-employment Drug Testing
Pre-employment drug testing takes place when a prospective employee attends for interview. Pre-employment testing can provide an employer with an indication of whether a prospective candidate for a job abuses drugs and hence their suitability for future employment. An employer who implements pre-employment drug testing can determine whether to proceed with the selection process or discard a prospective candidate. Pre-employment testing sends a clear message to prospective employees about the company's attitude towards drug use and helps to deter those who misuse drugs from seeking employment with the company.

For Cause Drug Testing
For cause testing is used as an investigative tool for any workplace circumstance where management believe drugs or alcohol may be a factor. There are normally two different types of circumstance, reasonable suspicion and post-incident/accident.

Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing
Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing is used in any situation where an employee is suspected of being under the influence of a substance and therefore presenting a risk in the workplace. The decision to test is based on factors recognised as arising from the use of drugs, such as abnormal behaviour (e.g. depression, euphoria, hyperactivity, or lethargy and tiredness), difficulty in walking normally, incoherent speech, bruising and/or injection marks, and third party observations from colleagues, contractors and customers.

Post Incident/accident Drug Testing
Post-incident drug screening, as its name implies, is undertaken when a safety related incident occurs in the workplace. Those involved in the incident should be required to provide a sample as soon as possible after the incident (for urine usually within 2-3 hours) and this provides a means of determining whether the use-abuse of drugs may have been a contributory factor. Post-incident testing may be seen as part of the process of conducting a thorough investigation or to comply with RIDDOR. 

Follow-up Drug Testing
An employee who has tested positive for drugs or alcohol or who has voluntarily come forward for confidential assistance for a drugs or alcohol problem may be subject to further periodic testing for a designated period. This should only be done on a case by case basis following medical investigation to ensure that any prescribed course of counselling or rehabilitation is being followed. (eg: where an individual has completed a counselling or rehabilitation programme and it is necessary to check progress and compliance).

Unannounced and Random Drug Testing
Unannounced and random drug screening is undertaken on all, or agreed sections, of a work force often without giving workers prior knowledge of when it is likely to take place. Unannounced testing may be restricted to certain groups of workers whilst random screening may involve any member of a designated workforce selected on a totally random basis. In the UK random and unannounced testing is usually employed to test members of the work force who are employed in carrying out safety critical tasks e.g. train, bus & commercial drivers and those working on oil and gas rigs.

We can help develop a suitable testing programme and advise on the most suitable testing products.

We also provide a 24 hour, 365 day, National Collection Service to conduct all types of sample collections should you require independent experts to do this.

Datasheet Ref:DRU/102/03/05