Randomised testing is proven to be the best practice for a comprehensive Alcohol and Drug policy. The dynamics of random testing ensure optimum results and support advanced management principles.

Random drug and alcohol testing must be truly random. There should be a clear management emphasis on the use of a purely randomized method of selection for drug and alcohol testing.

In operational terms this means:

Everybody participates in the selection process
Everyone knows how it works
Selection is done openly

The selection of a coloured bead for example, demonstrates obvious openness and fairness in the selection process. The conduct of drug and alcohol tests must be transparent and in no way be (or appear to be) discriminative. Alternative methods for randomization include similar manual selection methods, and in some organizations computer generated randomized selection is used.

There are many staff welfare issues, including rehabilitation, information, and counseling to discuss employee options for management of drug or alcohol related conditions. These processes can create a good working sequence of events incorporating the random testing process.

Industry standard random tests have a wide scope of possible applications, including testing for:

Alcohol
Cannabis
Amphetamines
Cocaine
Benzodiazepines
Opiates

These are a range of issues which may well include other significant situations for management:

Pre-employment: This is a routine practice in many organizations, often stipulated as part of the hiring process. Staff are fully informed of policies and practices by the time they commence work.

Reasonable cause to suspect, following critical incidents: These are mandatory employer workplace practices. Employers must identify risk issues and causes and be able to identify issues. The testing processes are the same as random tests, but the process is naturally selective.

Return to work: This is an employer discretionary policy, but it’s also a form of consistent application of the randomization policy. An employee returning to work has obviously not been subject to testing in their absence, so the return to work test is simply fair play. This is also the case where an emplyee has previously produced a Non Negative (Positive ) result. They should be re-tested prior to returning to the workplace.

Blanket testing: In a blanket test, everyone in the organization is tested prior to implementation of the Alcohol and Drug Policy. The timing of tests is naturally kept secret to prevent abstinence by substance users. These tests are conducted under strict conditions of anonymity for staff. The results provide valuable data as to the frequency of the proposed onsite testing. It should be noted that any actual breach of privacy conditions may have ramifications for the employer.

Employers please note: Collection of personal information are covered by privacy laws. It’s important to be fully aware of the obligations involved in collection of this data.

Privacy laws in Australia are state legislation. The New South Wales Privacy and Personal information act 1998 No 133 is a good basic reference for this type of legislation.

If your business operates in another state jurisdiction, the relevant legislation in your state can be accessed through the Lawlink libraries. (State legislation is listed alphabetically.) The collection of workplace drug testing information is quasi medical information and as such should be guarded. Records should be secured and only available to donor and personnel involved in testing regime and high level management.

 

LaneWorkSafe are wholesalers of urine and saliva drug testing kits, offering competitive prices for a variety of products and guaranteed continuity of supply. For more information, visit Drug Testing Kits.
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