bjcc
The railway industry "due Dilligence" process allows for screening for alcohol and substances of abuse to be carried out as follows:-
* Pre-Employment screening,
* Transfer to Safety Critical Work screening,
* Random Screening
In addition wherever an incident occurs I as a Manager can require an individual to undergo Post Incident screening
Where I have reasonable grounds to believe that an individual MAY be under the influence of alcohol or substances of abuse I can REQUIRE that person to undergo a screening test known as a "For Cause" screen.
All the above are written into an individual's Contract of Employment. A failure to comply with a request will ALWAYS result in dismissal in the first instance.
The above are entirely separate to the requirement of an individual to undergo screening by a Police Officer.
The purpose of "Due Dilligence" is to prevent, as far as possible the opportunity for a person to report for duty under the influence of alcohol or substances of abuse, and to identify those that may have.
We carry out "random" screens to identify anyone who may be using substances of abuse. This can comprise of an unannounced random screen, as happened to me last Fri night, or can be a programmed screen at which the individual is given 48 hours notice. It has been judged that the 48 hours notice will still enable a valid drug screen to be carried out.
The programmed screen is managed by a computer based programme selecting an indivual at random. They are then notified to attend to one of the screening centres at a specific date and time.
We do not ever anticipate a person failing a notified screen for alcohol, for obvious reasons.
Unannounced randon screening is just what it says...a screening team will arrive on site and select indivuduals to be tested. This may be at the start of a shift, or during a shift.
Screening is always undertaken by an independent organisation who operate a "Chain of Custody" process for samples.
Testing always requires to collection of urine, and can also involve a breath test.
Personnel in the Railway Industry have no problem with the process as it will dispel any suggestion that alcohol and drugs may have been a factor in an incident.
Despite some initial reservations, similar to those expressed here, after 10 years we have got used to the regime and I know of no-one who would ever object. Indeed anyone who would is viewed with suspicion by their colleagues for obvious reasons.
All the above however requires standard procedures to be in place and rigidly adhered to.