random drug test
Random drug screening is used by a lot of UK companies in order to deter the use or abuse of illegal drugs and alcohol by employees within the workplace. There are lots of case studies to demonstrate how good random drug testing is in reducing accidents, absenteeism, ill health, litigation, etc, and as a result it is regularly thought to be best practice, specifically in dangerous environments.
If a company doesn't start random drug and alcohol screening regularly, they often do drug and alcohol screening if an incident has occured - such as accident based screening or "for cause" testing if there is enough proof to suggest an employee is taking drugs or alcohol.
How often random drug and alcohol screening should be conducted can be calculated by the company depending upon many variables. This all depends on the nature of the business, demographics of the businesses staff or variables relating to the culture of the business – for example, a culture of lunchtime drinking.
Some businesses carry out as little as 5 percent random drug and alcohol screening, whereas other companies may insist that every member of staff is screened at least once annually or more. It generally depends on the companies buget, health and safety in the workplace and the importance of drug testing to the company.
Workplace substance abuse screening is fairly straight forward to implement and is relatively inexpensive to introduce when done correctly. Random drug screening can be conducted on site for less than ten pounds per member of staff. Providing there is a drugs and alcohol policy that states that random drug screening is compulsary.
There are lots of businesses that can help you to introduce or better your drugs and alcohol policy, which must be in place for the duration of your notice period so anyone who objects to the policy has the opertunity to leave the company.
