Will drug testing at work ever become standard practice?

Online publication Personnel Today raised the question of whether drug testing at work will ever become standard practice following a report in Occupational Health. There are arguments for and against drugs testing in the workplace, which makes this a very controversial issue; however, in January 2013, the Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe proposed that drug testing should become compulsory for millions of Britain’s workers.

Who should be tested?

If drug testing was to become mandatory, it would only be possible to test some of the population with the current infrastructure in place. Which workers should be tested?

Mr Hogan-Howe believes that teachers, intensive-care nurses and transport staff would benefit the most. He added: “You can think of many occupations where, if you were working with a colleague, you would want to be sure that they were drug free.”

Who is tested already?

There are several industries where workers are tested as a matter of routine. In rail and maritime, key workers must be tested to ensure that they are not abusing drugs or alcohol. Other business sectors test their employees as part of their duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Can blanket testing work?

A bigger problem may be the number of positive test results. Data from the British Crime Survey reveals that up to 14% of working-age men take an illegal drug in any given year. This represents a huge part of the workforce and managing test results would put a huge burden on business.