04/07/2011 by admin.

Business drug and alcohol testing is growing, and now forms an important element of general health screening for job applicants, accross a wide spectrum of industry. The growth in drug use has seen more and more employers addressing the issues of drug misuse, dependency and social recreational use creeping into the workplace and employee productivity and safety. Pre-employment drug screening has seen the greatest growth in recent years, and now extends far beyond the safety critical employment roles.

Employers are perfectly at liberty to request applicants provide a drug screen sample as part of any job application. Prospective employees may decline. There is no current UK legislation preventing an employer from excluding a candidate on the basis that they have refused to provide a sample for drug screening as part of the companies routine pre-employment screening. As long as the drug screening is routine, this does not currently constitute discrimination of any kind. Indeed companies can argue that they hold a duty of care to ensure no employee undertakes duties while under the influence of drugs or alcohol which may make both them and their environment unsafe for themselves and fellow workers. The last argument is much stronger where the employment role includes safety critical duties.

Pre-employment drug testing is therefore one of the most easy and common programmes of drug screening to implement and operate. We are often asked by companies what is the most common package of drugs, or minimum range of drugs which is expected in a drug screening program. The answer is not always straight forward, as some consideration should be given to the target demographic and also local drug availability and usage patterns. As a base guide we would recommend a baseline of 5 or 6 drug groups, to which other local or industry specific additional can be made. FOR UK EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING we would recommend the screen cover  Cannabis, Cocaine, Opiates, Methamphetamine & Amphetamine +/- Benzodiazepines For most screening a 5 panel drug test kits is the best option for urine drug testing and if saliva drug testing is preferred then a 6 drug saliva testing kit for Cannabis, Cocaine, opiates, Amphetamine, Methamphetamine and PCP is a great option. A wide range of urine and saliva drug test kits are currently available.

Buyers should ensure that packs are from a reputable specialist supplier, offering full technical support and cross reference data for the kits. All drug screening kits should be properly branded CE marked professional packs with original data sheet and both CE mark, manufacturers data and EU representative details for the CE quality mark (CE mark alone is not good enough) the product you buy should be healthcare standard class1 biotech imported as an IVDD (In Vitro Diagnostic Device) and stored correctly by the distributor. Ensure the supplier has over 10 years experience of drug screening biotechnology and has medically trained staff with clinical experience of drug screening available to advise you as part of the service.

Posted in Employee drug testing, Drug Tests at work, Business drug testing kits, Business drug screening, drug testing work, pre-employment Drug Testing, Workplace drug testing, Drug testing at work, Drug testing in the workplace, Employment Drug Testing | 4 Comments »

20/10/2010 by admin.

More and more companies in the UK are now routinely undertaking regular drug and alcohol testing programs. Leading the way are safety critical employers, where drug screening is an integral element of health and safety proceedure. UK Employment agencies are increasingly being requested to provide drug and alcohol tests as part of a routine pre-employment screen, and as an ongoing certification requirement for contract or agency staff, being deployed in safety critical employment environments.

Drug testing in the workplace need be no more taxing for employers than a routine urine dip health test for kidney disease or diabetes, and is available from under £4.00 per test.

Urine drug screening products offer the most cost effective and best route for effective detection of drug use in the preceeding 72hrs.

Many testing agencies would prefer to test using a saliva drug test kit, until they understand the much shorter period of detection achievable with instant on site saliva drug tests (12-24hrs in most drug group) Of course this can be an advantage where agencies are concerned only with detecting recent or active drugs, currently still in the employee and still likely to be psychoactive and affecting performance.

Urine drug tests will detect the use of drugs in the last 3 to 5 days, so they will detect recreational Cannabis, Ecstacy and Amphetamine use (club drugs) used on a Friday and Saturday, in employee drug tests on Monday or Tuesday.

A full list of product specific drug detection times is available from www.ukdrugtesting.co.uk drug detection times data here

Packs specifically taylored to employers needs for drugs and alcohol testing are available from www.valuebreathalysers.co.uk or  here

Posted in Employee drug testing, drug testing work, Drug testing in the workplace, Drug testing at work | 1 Comment »

14/01/2009 by admin.

Employment and pre-employment drug screening is again in the news, and despite the economic doom and gloom companies are still investing in careful drugs screening to ensure the right employees are taken on.

Most companies embarking on drug and alcohol screening do not have the facility of an in house occupational health or HR department to oversee the program. This makes picking the right tools for the job even more essential.

Managers need to understand the differences between urine drug testing kits and saliva drug test kits, look carefully at the drug groups covered by the drug testing kit and the manufaturers guide & detection times for each drug type. These vary enormously.

Saliva drug testing offers the enormous advantage of easy sample collection, with high confidence levels that you are testing a fresh sample, from the person you intend to screen. Urine collection is obviously harder to oversee.

A range of saliva drug tests are available in the UK. Ensure the drug testing product carries a professional CE mark and also lists the European representative for the registration mark. Follow the manufacturers instructions for use and also refer to the accuracy studies which should be listed in the data sheet provided with all professional drug test drug testing packs. Products sold as home or self tests, or just not listed as professional, may be from the same manufacturer but do not have to meet the same regulatory and EU compliance tests. Check with the supplier if these drug test products are as good before purchasing.

Our suggested first line saliva drug test products for business are:

Oraline IV saliva drug test

Instant View saliva drug test

InstAlert Twist saliva drug test

Click here for more information on Saliva Drug Testing Kits

Posted in Drug screen, Drug screening, Drug Test, drug testing work, First Sign Oral drug test, Drug Tests at work, Drug testing in the workplace, Oral Drug Testing, Oraline, Saliva Drug Tests, Employment Drug Testing, Drug testing at work, Saliva Drug Test, Oral Drug Test, Drug Testing | 1 Comment »