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 construction industry, Drug testing in the workplace, Employment Drug Testing | 3 Comments »

08/06/2010 by admin.

E-Z drug test cups have been available for many years and have proved popular with both the drug treatment agencies and also with business users who wish to perform urine drug testing in the workplace.

The integrated urine collection and storage cup with built in drug test panel offers easy sample collection, and spill free storage and handling.

The urine drug test panel gives immediate on-site results to NIDA cut off levels for up to 10 drug groups.

Negative urine samples can be disgarded, while any positive urine samples can be retained, sealed with tamper proof seals (provided in all professional 25 test packs) and sent for laboratory comfirmation.

The E-Z urine drug test cup is available in a range of urine drug test combination from 5 to 10 drug groups depending on the requirments of the end user from www.ukdrugtesting.co.uk

The EZ collection cup system offers an ideal urine drug test system where facilities for sample collection and processing may be limited. The Instalert professional standard urine drug test membrane supplied as standard offers high accuracy and detection rates to CE EU IVDD standards, and is considered one of the best near patient urine drug screening products available.

Posted in Urine drug test, Drug screen, urine drug test kits, urine test drugs, urine drug testing kit, EZ drug test, Integrated drug test, Drug testing in the workplace, Drug testing in construction industry, Drug screening, 10 panel drug test, Drug test cup, Drug testing at work | 1 Comment »

12/04/2010 by admin.

Undertaking drug testing for the first time can be a daunting task, but the basic procedure is very simple.

An initial urine sample is collected and brought to room temperature (usually 20 minutes) The sample is then tested using a standard panel combination drug test. The cut off levels for drug test panels is internationally agreed and traditionally work to SAMHSA and NIDA levels for urine analysis.

Professionally produced and batch certified drug testing urine kits are between 97 and 99% accurate when compared in studies to laboratory drug screening using GC/MS methods. This level of accuracy is considered by all bodies as high enough to be acceptable for all negative onsite drug test results.

In simple terms, if the instant drug test result is all normal, and the sample collection and procedure are all acceptable no further action need be taken.

Confirming all positive results is essential in a workplace situation. No further action should be taken before laboratory GC/MS confirmation of a positive result is obtained.

Where employment drug testing is part of a occupational risk assessment for a high risk occupation, the employee should not be allowed to perform this task pending the confirmation result, but no disciplinary or penalty action must be taken by the employer before absolute confirmation is obtained.

Standard drug test panel combinations for the UK and EU employment drug testing tend to be THC, COC, AMP, MET, MOP

THC = Cannabis 50ng

COC = Cocaine 300ng

AMP= Amphetamine 1000ng

MOP = Opiates 300ng

MET = Methamphetamine 1000ng

Click here for more info on drug testing kits

Posted in Drug testing in the workplace, Drug Testing faq's, Drug screening, Drug screen, Urine drug test, Drug Test, Drug Test FAQ, Drug testing in football, Employment Drug Testing, Drug Detection Times, Workplace drug testing, Drug testing at work, Drug testing in construction industry, Drug Testing | 1 Comment »

05/05/2009 by admin.

Just read this article in Construction News

Rok’s employees and supply chain will face drug and alcohol tests from this autumn.

The group – which turned over more than £1 billion last year and has 60 offices across the UK – told Construction News it plans to roll out a new drug and alcohol policy which will see all of its workers face an initial round of testing, followed by sustained random checks.

Rok, which in March announced it had a secured future pipeline of work some £2.7 billion, said it wanted to weed out drug and alcohol abusers in a bid to boost site safety across the company.

Head of health and safety Shaun Davis said while the policy had not yet been finalised, it was expected to include pre-employment, random and post-incident testing. Tests could also be carried out if suspicions were raised over any specific individuals.

Click here to read the full article online at Construction News

Click here for more on info and drug and alcohol testing

Posted in Drug testing in construction industry, Drug testing at work, Workplace drug testing, Drug Testing News, Drug Testing | 1 Comment »