Testing Programmes
Pre-Employment Screening. Test candidates after a conditional job offer to ensure they meet the fitness standards for safety-critical or regulated roles. Integrates with our pre-placement health assessment process for a single, streamlined onboarding check. For transport, construction, and energy employers, pre-employment drug and alcohol screening is often a contractual and regulatory requirement.
Random Testing. Unannounced screening across your workforce using a statistically valid random selection method. Acts as both a deterrent and a detection tool. Particularly important in transport, construction, energy, and manufacturing where impairment carries immediate physical risk. The random selection process must be genuinely random and defensible. We use validated software to generate selections that can withstand challenge.
For-Cause and Post-Incident Testing. Triggered when there is reasonable suspicion of impairment or following a workplace accident. Rapid deployment ensures samples are collected within the window required for reliable results. For-cause testing provides critical evidence for disciplinary or investigative processes and demonstrates that the employer acted reasonably and promptly.
Rehabilitation Monitoring. Structured follow-up testing for employees returning to work after a substance misuse intervention. Supports both the individual’s recovery and the employer’s confidence in their fitness to resume duties. The monitoring schedule is designed around the clinical recovery programme and typically runs for six to twelve months.
Policy Development
Testing without a clear, legally sound policy is a liability. We work with your HR and legal teams to develop or review your drug and alcohol policy, ensuring it covers consent, confidentiality, testing triggers, consequences, support pathways, and the chain-of-custody process. Every policy is drafted to withstand tribunal scrutiny and reflects current employment law.
A robust policy should answer every question that might arise during a testing scenario: what happens if someone refuses? What substances are tested? How are results communicated? What support is offered to someone who tests positive? When does a positive result become a disciplinary matter rather than a welfare concern? We help you answer all of these clearly, defensibly, and proportionately.
Why Clinical Governance Matters
Drug and alcohol testing is only as good as the process behind it. A contaminated sample, a broken chain of custody, or an unqualified collector can invalidate results and expose you to legal challenge. Our testing programmes operate within our SEQOHS-accredited governance framework. Sample collection is conducted by trained personnel following strict protocols. Results are reviewed by qualified professionals before any report reaches your HR team. Every step is documented and defensible.
The chain of custody is the documented trail that proves a sample wasn’t tampered with, contaminated, or mishandled between collection and analysis. Without it, a positive result is worthless in disciplinary or legal proceedings. Our protocols ensure an unbroken, auditable chain from the moment the sample is collected to the point the result is confirmed by the laboratory.
Testing Methods
Urine testing. The most established method for workplace drug screening. Detects a wide range of substances including cannabis, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines. Point-of-care screening provides an initial result onsite within minutes. Any non-negative results are sent to an accredited laboratory for confirmation testing.
Oral fluid (saliva) testing. A less invasive alternative that detects recent drug use. Particularly useful for for-cause and post-incident testing where recent impairment is the question, rather than historical use. Collection is observed, which eliminates substitution concerns.
Breath alcohol testing. Immediate, onsite detection of alcohol. Provides a quantitative reading that can be compared against your policy thresholds. For post-incident testing, breath alcohol is the fastest way to establish whether impairment was a factor.
Support and Rehabilitation
Our approach balances safety with welfare. A positive test result does not automatically mean disciplinary action. Depending on your policy and the circumstances, the appropriate response may include referral to our EAP counselling service, a structured rehabilitation programme with monitoring, or a combination of clinical support and employment management.
We help you distinguish between situations that require immediate removal from safety-critical duties and situations where a supportive intervention is the right first step. Both approaches serve your duty of care. The former protects physical safety, the latter protects the individual’s recovery and your investment in a trained employee.
Testing Programmes with Full Chain-of-Custody Compliance
All confirmation testing is conducted by laboratories holding UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accreditation. This means the analytical methods, quality control procedures, and chain-of-custody protocols meet independently verified standards. A result from a UKAS-accredited laboratory carries evidential weight in disciplinary proceedings, tribunal hearings, and court cases.
Point-of-care screening devices used for onsite testing are also verified for accuracy and specificity. While point-of-care results are preliminary, they provide an immediate operational decision point — for example, removing an employee from a safety-critical task pending laboratory confirmation.
What This Means for Your Business
The cost of a substance-related workplace accident. In terms of injury compensation, regulatory action, operational downtime, and reputational damage, dwarfs the cost of a properly governed testing programme. For safety-critical sectors, the question is not whether you can afford drug and alcohol testing. It’s whether you can afford not to have it.
