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.
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.
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.
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.
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 and support pathways. Every policy is drafted to withstand tribunal scrutiny and reflects current employment law. Policy development can also draw on our Strategic Medical Advice service to ensure alignment with occupational health governance and workplace safety standards. Policies are developed in line with HSE workplace drug and alcohol guidance and current employment law.
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 MCL’s clinical governance framework, which is SEQOHS accredited, the same clinical standards we have maintained since 1999. 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 under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and relevant employment legislation.
FAQs
It depends on your policy. If your employment contract and drug and alcohol policy include testing provisions, refusal can be treated as a disciplinary matter. We help you ensure your policy is legally watertight before testing begins.
Standard panels cover cannabis, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and benzodiazepines. We can add or adjust panels based on your sector requirements. Alcohol is tested separately via breath or blood analysis.
Point-of-care screening gives an initial result onsite within minutes. Any non-negative results are sent to an accredited laboratory for confirmation, typically within 3–5 working days, maintaining full chain of custody throughout.
Yes. Our approach balances safety with welfare. Employees who test positive can be referred into our Employee Assistance Programme, including EAP counselling support or, where appropriate, a structured rehabilitation programme with monitoring. Disciplinary action and clinical support are not mutually exclusive.
Yes. We deploy trained collectors to your premises anywhere in the UK, or testing can be conducted at our clinic network. For safety-critical sectors, we schedule around your operations including night shifts.