Nowadays, the law implies that if you are working for a certain company, you have to undergo some tests in order to ensure that you are a fine, stand-up person. As they imply, all this is done in order to improve the overall working efficiency and this statement has its logic.

People will work better if they are not intoxicated or if they don’t have a craving for some kind of drug. As an employer, you should better take these countermeasures under consideration, just in order to have a clear state of mind about your staff. When talking about workplace drug testing, before you go into the subject, you should be aware of some things.

1 . The drug testing policy has to be thoroughly defined, which means that you have to provide certain info related to what exactly is considered a violation; who has to undergo the test and why; if then you do run into some addicts, what are the countermeasures that will be brought to action; and, finally – this is an optional one – you should state whether the company will allow a rehabilitation period. All this should be distributed to each employee in writing, as a formal document.

2. If an employee refuses to take the test, the company is eligible to sing his release, but these things should not be done hastily. This person should receive a warning of sorts, and there is a whole legal process that you can undergo, where the reasons for this person not taking the test will be discussed and examined. That is the proper way.

3. It is allowed to create a system in which not all employees have to undergo the test. But, there is a catch. If one person from one department has to take it, everyone from that same department has to take it. At least, that’s what the law is like in most countries, and this is rather logical. If you have medical staff in your company – they don’t need to take the test, logically.

4. The tests can be administered randomly – when they least expect it. On the other hand they can be administrated because of some occasion that occurred. The former is more common. Random tests are a standard procedure and an employee has to go and take the test once or twice a year and that’s it. The latter, on the other hand is something unpredictable – for instance, if someone notices that an employee is behaving “differently”, or a similar scenario.

5. You should make sure that the lab in which the test is being processed is a proper one, so that you can be certain that the results are clear and firm.

These are, more or less, the basics. There is, of course, a lot more to be said on this subject. The best thing to do is to hire a lawyer who is up to date on the subject. Of course, you can always continue your Google search and explore other sources of information. But, the bottom line is – stay informed and try to keep everything by the book, because only that way will you have a clear state of mind about what your options and obligations are.