TTC Group

Impairment Testing

Many companies recognise that alcohol and / or drugs can affect workplace performance and look for a method for testing their staff.

Any type of testing has to be agreed with staff and written into their contracts of employment. Most employees, if they drive vehicles during work hours, can see the sense in having a policy on breath testing them

There can, however, often be resistance from staff to the introduction of other sampling, such as urine testing for drugs. Why is this?

Quite simply, the answer is that most of us drink alcohol. (92% of men, 86% of women) We admit it and are happy to be breath tested because we are only being asked to show that we have not had too much 'the night before', or that we have not had a small amount too close to work hours.

"Why should we have to show that they have not taken illegal drugs recently, especially at my age?" is a common comment made by employees asked to provide 'random' samples for drug analysis Well there is an alternative

There is a technique, developed by the Police, to test drivers to establish if they are impaired at the roadside through drugs. (or alcohol) It is called Field Impairment Testing. You may have seen it on television during 'Cops in action' programmes where they get drivers to perform tests such as 'walking along a white line'. They have been shown to be over 90% accurate in detecting impairment from a wide range of substances.

TTC has staff qualified to teach these techniques to key people in your organisation so that they can carry our impairment tests on employees suspected of being impaired in the workplace. Once this has been established, it is a matter for you and your policies as to what happens next. This failure can trigger a request to provide a urine sample for 'proof' for disciplinary purposes, or can be used as a means of identifying employees with a drug/alcohol problem who needs counselling and support

The Impairment Testing is done to an ISO 9000 standard and each trained person receives a certificate to show that they are authorised to carry out the testing. It can also be useful to have Union/staff association representatives trained as well, so that they can take part in the testing process themselves

One useful result of having Impairment Testing as a screening method for other testing is that no one will be asked to provide a urine sample, unless they already appear to be impaired and the Impairment Tests confirm the suspicion. Therefore you have a method of testing staff but the majority of them, who are never impaired at work, will not be asked to prove their fitness in a random test

Alongside the PIT training is Drug Recognition Training. This gives supervisors the knowledge and confidence to recognise drugs and their effects on employees. You may have a policy on drugs at work, but would you recognise them if you saw them?

Don't forget that your drugs policy also has to cover prescribed and 'over the counter' medicines because these can have an effect on workplace employment. Preliminary Impairment Testing will also show if a person is impaired through 'legal' medicines. The whole course takes 2 days, with a refresher day each 2 years. Other than that, there is no further expenditure

Most other types of testing will tell you if a person has substances in their body. This is NOT sufficient for disciplinary action. It has been successfully argued at tribunals that the mere presence of - say - cannabis in a persons system does not warrant dismissal. The drug may have been taken in their own time (cannabis is detectable in urine for up to 28 days after it is smoked) and Human Rights legislation has been quoted, in relation to their right to privacy in their own time. With Impairment Testing you are able to say: "I am not concerned with when you took the substance, just with the fact that you are impaired in the workplace"

You can see some pictures of the techniques used, please contact us for further details of how this could work for your company