Pubdate: Sun, 22 May 2005
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Copyright: 2005 Associated Newspapers Ltd
Contact:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/108
Author: Jenny Little, Mail on Sunday
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

DRUGS TEST FOR A JOB

YOU'VE made it through the final round of interviews and that dream
job is almost in your grasp. But you are asked to take a drugs test at
the last minute - and a cold remedy could spell failure.

Some companies are turning to drugs testing as part of their standard
recruitment process along with interviews and reference checks.

A study of companies in 13 countries by human resources consultancy
DDI found that 38% used drugs tests in the final stages of their
hiring process.

Lucy McGee, a director of DDI's UK arm, says: 'These tests are more
common in the United States, but Europe often follows where America
leads.

'Recruiters want to know that people who present themselves for
interview are what they say they are.

'Testing at the point of entry can be helpful to employers. They want
to avoid the cost of dealing with a person whose performance is
affected by what they do in their spare time.'

Firms that used drug tests did so where people were being submitted
for general medicals, effectively once they had already been hired.
But Hugh Robertson, head of health and safety for the TUC, believes
the tests are inaccurate and most sensible employers in this country
have rejected any pressure to introduce them.

'The tests can be misleading,' he says. 'Someone could take an
over-the-counter flu remedy containing codeine and they would
subsequently test positive for opiates. Equally, a test might show a
person has had contact with a drug in the past three days, week or
month, but that doesn't indicate whether their performance was
impaired in the way that a test for alcohol might. It's also an issue
of natural justice. Unless a drug test is applied to a safety-critical
job, that information is none of the employer's business.'

Jim Donaghy works for a manufacturing firm in Belfast and, as a union
representative for Amicus, has seen people fall foul of drug testing.
He believes it is often faulty and can be maliciously administered.
'This type of policy is intimidatory and can cause huge upset and
embarrassment,' he says. 'If the test is not handled properly, people
can be penalised with little or no justification. It's a process
that's wide open to abuse.'

Guidelines on drug and alcohol testing were published in December by
the Information Commissioner, the data protection authority.

The report advises employers that drugs testing is justified only to
ensure safety at work rather than to reveal the use of illegal substances.

Robertson says: 'These tests don't reveal when a person has taken
drugs or whether someone is under the influence. It's a nonsense and
unjustified.' 
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MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFLorida)