CareerNews
			What does a drug test entail? What jobs may require you to take a drugs test? Legal issures

You may have been asked to bring a portfolio of your work to a job interview, but up until now probably not a urine sample.

It is well known that athletes have to undergo regular drug tests to ensure that they are clean for a racing meet. However were you aware that many employers are now introducing compulsory drug testing to make sure that new recruits are not illegal drug users and that existing employees are substance free, and therefore performing at their best?

The UK loses approximately £3bn from drug-related illness each year and employers want to reduce this unnecessary loss.

Drugs and work don't mix, if you hold a responsible position then you cannot afford to be anything less than in full control of all of your faculties.

What does a drug test entail?

Drug tests detect drugs as well as metabolites. Metabolites are the byproducts of a substance after it has run through your system, these can be detected in urine, blood, hair, external residue, and even perspiration!

Testing is a two-stage process. The first involves an 'immunoassay' screening, which identifies any of the main drug groups, such as cocaine, cannabis, barbiturates, amphetamines and opiates, present in a urine sample.

If the first test is positive, there is a second, more comprehensive test, involving gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS).

It provides a chemical fingerprint that pinpoints the kind of drug that has been used and eliminates false positives. The GCMS differentiates between legal and illegal drugs.

These tests do not discriminate between the casual user and the addict and simply search for traces of substances. The tests cannot assess quantity or regularity of use.

What jobs may require you to take a drug test?

Drug testing is most common in jobs that possibly require the employee to come into contact with narcotics. For example if you want to join the police force, customs and excise, or the prison service then you may be asked to do a drug test as part of your assessment.

If you work in any of these professions you may be asked to carry out a routine random drug test whilst at work.

Other jobs of responsibility may require testing and some companies, such as London Transport and Railtrack, already have them for obvious safety reasons.

Medscreen, which does drug testing for companies all over Europe, already has 300 big clients in the UK, and says the market is expanding rapidly. Medscreen mainly does pre-employment drug screening, but recently has noticed a shift among companies towards random tests.

"To a certain extent, the pre-tests are to weed out idiots," said Fiona Begley, Medscreen's sales and marketing manager. "If a person cannot stay off drugs or alcohol during the selection process, either they have a serious problem, or they are too stupid to employ."

The onus is on employers to make sure their employers are drug free, they have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of employees.

They also have a duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, to assess the risks to the health and safety of employees. If an employer knowingly allows an employee under the influence of drug misuse to continue working and his or her behaviour places the employee or others at risk, the employer could be prosecuted.

Your employees are also required to take reasonable care of themselves and others who could be affected by what they do at work.

The Transport and Works Act 1992 makes it a criminal offence for certain workers to be unfit through drugs and/or drink while working on railways, tramways and other guided transport systems. The operators of the transport system would also be guilty of an offence unless they had shown all due diligence in trying to prevent such an offence being committed.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that any person who, when driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, is unfit to drive through drink or drugs shall be guilty of an offence. An offence is also committed if a person unfit through drink or drugs is in charge of a motor vehicle in the same circumstances.

Legal Issues

Do you have to comply with a drug test, is it compulsory?
You do have the right to refuse a drug test in the workplace, however by refusing to take the test your employer will automatically assume you have something to hide. That is unless you can explain that you have good reason to refuse.

Can you be sacked if a test is positive?
Yes, it is very simple - you can lose your job if the type of work you do stipulates that you must be drug free. For example if your job requires you to be responsible for other peoples' lives, for example an airline pilot or a bus driver, then you will probably lose your job if there is not a good and valid medical reason.

In other circumstances you may just be given a warning, however it depends very much on the type of drug being used and the individual circumstance.

Employees who confess to a drug or alcohol problem before they are tested stand the best chance of keeping their jobs.

Golden Rule No 1: "If you feel compelled to use drugs in the first place then own up before you get caught."