Workplace drug testing could increase dramatically in the UK and become a fact of everyday working life, according to the findings of an independent 18-month investigation unveiled this week.
WITH SERIOUS implications for Australia, workplace drug testing could increase dramatically in the UK and become a fact of everyday working life, according to the findings of an independent 18-month investigation unveiled late last month.
The Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work, sponsored by DrugScope and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, predicts the UK “could be on the cusp of an explosion of drug testing”.
A Mori poll conducted on behalf of the inquiry found that 78 per cent of employers would consider drug testing if they believed that substance or alcohol abuse was affecting staff productivity. At the same time, 32 per cent of employers believe that drug testing does not impact on human rights, the poll revealed.
A Personnel Today/Alcohol Concern survey in 2001 showed that only 10 per cent of 306 UK firms surveyed tested their employees for alcohol and drug abuse.
The findings of the latest research come in a climate of little debate on the issues and arise partly as a result of aggressive marketing by drug testing companies, the inquiry warned.
“We know that testing is useful in specific safety critical and sensitive industries. However, it is a quantum leap for employers outside of these sectors to advocate drug testing of their staff,” said Ruth Evans, chair of the inquiry.
“We are in danger of slipping into a situation where employers are taking on a quasi-policing role with respect to the private lives of their staff.”
The inquiry called on the British Government to produce clear and definitive guidance on drug testing at work, particularly the legal issues – something that has been conspicuous by its absence.
In 2003, a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Drug Misuse Group concluded: “At present, there is no real consensus or clarity about what the aim of drug testing in the workplace should be.”
The process of testing, which often involves collecting blood or urine samples, raises significant issues of privacy and employers must take particular care not to infringe an individual’s human rights.
In the transport industry it is already a criminal offence for certain workers in jobs where safety is of critical importance – train drivers, for instance – to be under the influence of drink or drugs while at work.
– Courtesy of Personnel Today
