Frequently asked questions

What is workplace drug and alcohol testing?
Workplace drug and alcohol testing is a service, which detects certain drugs or their metabolites in an employee's body at levels which indicate that the donor is an “At Risk” employee. It is used primarily for health and safety reasons (eg in industries or specific occupations where drugs or alcohol use affects an employee's ability to carry out their duties safely). It may also offer gains such as reduced staff turnover, increased productivity and enhanced customer service improving a company’s reputation. The drugs that can be tested for are those that impair performance including alcohol, illicit drugs and a few legal drugs.

Workplace drug and alcohol testing is usually, and should be, part of a comprehensive drug and alcohol free workplace programme, which also includes drug education and access to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP). It identifies workers whose use of potentially impairing drugs would usually go undetected and provides an opportunity for early intervention to prevent accidents, injury, or dependence. It is not an appropriate procedure, for example, when an employee has already admitted drug use unless it is used to monitor progress through a rehabilitation programme.

Workplace drug and alcohol testing must be conducted in accordance with a range of legal requirements. The Human Rights Act 1993, for example, would require employers to design a non-discriminatory drug and alcohol free workplace programme i.e. one which does not target job applicants or employees on the basis of race, age, gender etc. Further legal obligations are covered later.

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Why is workplace drug and alcohol testing carried out?
The primary reason is to improve workplace safety. Employees who abuse drugs or alcohol may represent a greater safety risk to themselves, other employees, customers and members of the general public. Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, employers have an obligation to take "all practicable steps" to ensure the safety of employees while at work. The Courts have interpreted this obligation as meaning employers should be alerted to potential hazards and take measures to prevent injury and accidents. The 2003 amendment to the Health and Safety in Employment Act highlights drugs and alcohol as a potential hazard. The introduction of workplace drug testing, particularly in safety sensitive industries, is one way in which employers can meet their obligations.

Most comprehensive drug and alcohol free workplace policies incorporate employee assistance programmes that provide employees with advice on what counselling and treatment programmes are available. Some employers will provide this assistance with their own specialised services. Another benefit of workplace drug and alcohol testing is improved productivity and efficiency.

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How is workplace drug and alcohol testing carried out?
Different testing methods apply to alcohol and other drugs.
Breathalysers are the preferred method for detecting alcohol. These devices provide an on the spot reading of the level of alcohol in an employee's system. They have been used and developed over a number of years and are most commonly used by the police to test drivers for alcohol use. The device used must comply with the Australian Standard AS 3547-1997 “Breath alcohol testing devices for personal use.” ESR is able to supply breathalysers suitable for use in the workplace, and has the expertise to carry out the calibration of breath alcohol analysers.

For drugs other than alcohol, the procedure requires the collection and analysis of a urine sample, commonly called urinalysis. The whole process must comply with high quality standards that are described in the Australian/ New Zealand Standard Procedures for the Collection, Detection and Quantitation of Drugs of Abuse in Urine (AS/ NZS 4308: 2001). It requires well-developed procedures, specialised equipment and highly skilled scientific staff. The results are very accurate provided strict protocols are followed, and are able to withstand legal challenge. The sample is collected and transported to the accredited laboratory in a manner that ensures the integrity of the sample is retained and chain of custody is documented.

Urinalysis is carried out in two phases which should both be carried out in the same laboratory. The first is a screening process that gives either a negative or a presumptive positive result. No further action is taken with negative results. The second phase of testing is then conducted on the presumptive positive results. This testing, using a highly specialised process called Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) or Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS), can accurately confirm not only the presence of the drug or its metabolite but also the level of the drug in the employee's urine sample.

Certain cut-off levels are determined for each drug at both the screening and confirmatory phases. This means that even if a drug is detected during either the first or second testing phase, the result will still be counted as a negative if the drug level is below the cut-off. These cut-off levels are concentration values at or above which the drug test is deemed to be ‘positive’ and below which the drug test is deemed to be ‘negative’.

GCMS or LCMS is the only process currently available that meets international testing standards. GCMS and LCMS provide scientifically conclusive and forensically defensible proof of the presence of the identified drug and/or metabolite in the specimen tested.
NB: It is important to be aware that there are now available in New Zealand alternative tests that do not comply with the Australian/ New Zealand Standard. Such tests include “On site” urine tests (dip sticks, cartridges, cups), laboratories conducting the “Screen only” tests and Oral Fluid (or saliva) tests. These options can give the wrong result and the results would not withstand legal challenge.

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Which drugs and alcohol are tested for?
The testing is for a range of drugs and alcohol. Our standard menu of drugs is cannabinoids (marijuana, hashish, hash oil), opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine), cocaine, amphetamines (ecstasy, speed, P) and benzodiazepines (tranquillisers, sedatives, antidepressants). Other drugs can be requested if required (eg methodone, barbituates).

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Why aren't solvents tested?
Solvents and other substances, which are not normally included in a workplace drug-testing programme, can be tested for at the request of the company. Depending on the substance, another urine or blood sample may also be required.

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How accurate are the tests?
Every care and attention is paid to all tests. ESR procedures are accredited by IANZ (International Accreditation New Zealand) and meet the AS/NZS 4308:2001 international standard for this type of testing. There is a chain of custody from the collection of the specimen through to the report generation. Each stage of the testing is checked by a second analyst.

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Why is the specimen split into two bottles?
The laboratory tests one bottle (the A specimen) and one bottle (the B specimen) is kept unopened in secure storage. The employee can ask to have this second bottle (the B specimen) retested.

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Does anything get added to the specimen?
No. The laboratory pours some urine out of the bottle for the tests. Nothing is added to the specimen in the bottle.

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What is a "cut-off" level?
The "cut-off" level defines a result as positive or negative. If a specimen has more of a drug in it than the cut-off level, then the specimen is positive for drugs. If a specimen has less of a drug in it than the cut-off level, then the specimen is negative for drugs.

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Will passive smoking of cannabis make me positive?
No. The cut-off level for cannabis is set high enough that you must use cannabis yourself to return a positive result.

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Who is tested?
Workplace drug testing can be carried out at several levels. An employer may choose to test job applicants, existing employees or both. In the case of job applicants, there may be a programme that covers all applicants or those applicants who work in safety sensitive positions. Similarly, in the case of existing employees, all workers may be asked to take part in a programme or the employer may decide to test only those who occupy or wish to transfer to safety sensitive positions.

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What are safety sensitive positions?
Safety-sensitive positions are those that involve the health, safety and, sometimes, the lives of the employees, their fellow workers and members of the general public.

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When are employees tested?
Apart from pre-employment testing, discussed above, workplace drug and alcohol testing may be used in one or more of the following circumstances:

• Post-Incident Testing
  Employees involved in any significant accident or incident are tested immediately to identify whether drugs or alcohol were a factor.
• Reasonable Cause Testing
  Employees are tested if there is reasonable cause or suspicion of drug or alcohol use.
• Random Or Periodic Testing
  All employees, or an identified group (for example, those in safety sensitive positions) are tested on a random unannounced basis. Random testing can mean either the random selection of employees to be tested or all employees within a group being tested at random times within a certain period.
• Follow-up or Post Rehabilitation Testing
  Testing of individual employees may occur as part of a rehabilitation programme to measure progress and detect relapses.
  NB: The decision as to when employees are tested must have regard to privacy and human rights considerations.
  

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How can we be sure that random testing is fair?
Random testing must be fair and genuinely random, i.e. not targeted. In order to ensure impartiality, many companies will organise for an outside agent to manage the whole random selection process. ESR provides this service for its clients.

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Will all accidents involve drug and alcohol testing?
This will depend on the company’s policy and procedures. Some companies require that testing is automatically carried out after accidents of a certain rating. Other policies require that there also needs to be “ sufficient suspicion” of drug or alcohol symptoms before a test is undertaken. However, once the decision is made to proceed with testing, the employee(s) involved should be accompanied at all times until the urine sample collection and/or breath alcohol test has been completed.

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If I apply for a job internally, can I be tested under the pre-employment policy?
Some drug testing policies include a provision for “Pre-placement” testing. This would be conducted on those employees applying for a new position/ job internally. The normal career progression within a particular job would not be included in this category.

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How long do I have to wait for my test result?
From the time the urine sample is collected, it may take between 2-5 working days for a result to be reported to the employer. It is the employer’s responsibility to manage the communication of this result to the employee concerned. If the result is negative, then the result is ready the same day the specimen arrives at the laboratory.

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What is the evidence of a link between drug use and employee performance?
Research has demonstrated that some basic skills relevant to job performance are impaired by many drugs. The impact of substance use on workplace performance and productivity is difficult to chart but there is now a growing body of evidence that suggests there is a correlation between indicators of job performance and measures of drug use.
For example, a 1989 study of United States Navy recruits compared the staff retention rates of male recruits who had tested positive for marijuana at the time of induction, with a matched group who tested negative for any illicit drugs. When the two samples were balanced for other factors, staff retention rates for the drug negative group (81%) was significantly higher than for the drug positive group (57%) after 2.5 years. In addition, a total of 35% of the drug positive group left the Navy for substance related or other behavioural problems compared with only 9% of the drug negative group.

Other studies have confirmed these general patterns. The most ambitious multi-phased study to date, started in 1987, centred on approximately 5,500 job applicants of the United States Postal Service. Overall, 9% of the new employees tested positive. Over the next three years, several employment factors such as absenteeism, turnover, medical claims and disciplinary action were monitored. After balancing for age, sex and race, the results of the study showed that the drug positive group had a:

• 66% higher rate of absenteeism
• 77% higher rate of involuntary turnover
• 51% higher rate of filing medical claims, and an 83% higher average dollar mount for such claims
• 240% higher rate of disciplinary action
  

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Is workplace drug and alcohol testing legal?
Workplace drug and alcohol testing must take account of a number of laws including the Privacy Act 1993, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, and the Human Rights Act 1993. ESR has an expert legal opinion that confirms that workplace drug testing is lawful provided that employers meet these legal obligations.

The opinion concludes that taking into account the obligations outlined below employers may use workplace drug and alcohol testing as a means of ensuring the health and safety of their employees.
Specifically, the common law and statutory duties on employers (and employees) are:

• the employer's duty to provide a safe workplace
• the employee's "duty of obedience and reasonable behaviour," and
• the general statutory duties on employers and employees under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992