Drug and alcohol screening for employment is important because it prevents potential issues in the workplace. People who misuse the substances can experience severe effects. Their senses and judgment can be impaired. They cannot function properly, even with daily tasks. Hence, it is a liability for employers to hire someone unable to carry out their assignments. Moreover, their constant use of alcohol and drugs can cause major problems like accidents.

Companies nowadays typically require a pre-employment screening for alcohol and drugs. It helps them determine the suitability of a candidate to their culture and role. If the results come out as positive, job employment can be at stake. In addition, employers can immediately reject those who refuse to undergo a screening. To learn more about it, the following sections will present how it works, its benefits, and how a breath tester can help.

Drug and Alcohol Screening for Employment: How Does It Work?

Organisations brief candidates about drug and alcohol screening for employment most of the time. They can receive the news after getting the job offer. Also, it is a standard to inform them about the location of the testing facility. Moreover, they may get an idea of what the screening will be like.

On the day of the screening, they need to provide identification and the forms from the employer. Afterwards, the collecting of specimens happens. There are various methods for conducting it. It depends on what their employers have chosen as a standard. The technicians take the sample and analyse the results.

Furthermore, either the candidate or the employer receives the results. It is important to keep the privacy of the results to avoid legal issues. After they complete the screen without problems, they can be fully hired. All in all, it is a safe process, given that the applicants are sure they did not drink alcohol or consume illegal drugs.

Methods

There are several methods available for screening. Here are some of the most common pre-employment screens:

• Blood – Blood alcohol tests are quite an invasive method. It involves drawing blood from the arm of a candidate.
• Urine – Employers prefer this to others because it is less expensive and provides faster results.
• Breath – The test is done by using a device called a breathalyser. Applicants need to blow through the mouthpiece of the tester. It then analyses whether there is alcohol presence or not.
• Saliva – It is suitable for recent drug use. Collectors take the sample by swabbing the insides of the cheeks.

Drug and Alcohol Screening for Employment: Benefits

Many more companies are organising drug and alcohol screening for employment because of its benefits. Firstly, they can avoid problems. Employees who misuse alcohol and drugs eventually become unproductive. Moreover, it can result in absenteeism. These factors can affect the business negatively as they interrupt the workflow of others. Businesses lose money by firing and then recruiting new workers.

Secondly, they can promote a peaceful work environment. Applicants who go through screening can be aware of the culture of the company. They know they can be safe since employers care about an alcohol and drug-free workplace. Furthermore, one effect of constant substance misuse is behavioural issues. There can be fewer chances of disruptions if every worker a company hires is responsible enough not to consume substances.

Lastly, they can protect their reputation. Having a worker who fails to do his or her job because of alcohol and drugs is not pleasant. Clients may not want to work with companies that have employees who cannot manage their consumption. Thus, they must have a good image as much as possible. This is especially true because news spreads fast.

Are There Risks?

A company can have a highly skilled applicant. However, they can also fail a pre-employment screen as the result shows the use of alcohol or drugs. There is a risk of losing a worker who can do the job. It is still essential to let go of them or rethink their employment. This is because the potential issues they may face outweigh the good.

There is also a possibility of false positive results, even with laboratories. The risk is rejecting an employee because of alcohol or drug use, but it is a case of false positives. Thus, they can do confirmatory checks for good applicants.

Drug and Alcohol Screening for Employment: How a Workplace Breathalyser Can Help

It is typical for companies to contract testing facilities to administer drug and alcohol screening for employment. However, it can be costly. Fortunately, there is an alternative. It is acquiring a workplace breath tester. It analyses the blood alcohol concentration (BAC). A high-quality device can produce results within seconds.

Companies can visit Breathalysers Australia to see the options they have. One is the BACtrack S80 Pro Gen 2. It uses fuel cell sensors, which is on par with what police officers use for random breath tests. Thus, there is no doubt about accuracy. There is also an offer of a regular calibration service to maintain the effectiveness of the device.

They can get a trained collector to administer the test inside the office. It is more convenient and faster. In addition, it is a beneficial way of seeing who is reliable. A person going to a company for employment requires full attention. If they drank before going there, it may indicate that they are not suitable for a position at that given moment.

Factors to Consider

A breathalyser is a good tool. However, there are factors to consider. One is it can only identify alcohol in the body, not drugs. Hence, if they need to see drug use as well, they may opt for other methods. Furthermore, a breath tester is also capable of producing false positives. Thus, they must know how to combat that.

Nevertheless, buying it is a cost-effective choice. This is because they can use it multiple times. For instance, they can use it to conduct random alcohol tests for current employees. They only need to ensure the cleanliness of mouthpieces and the calibration of the device.

Conclusion

Drug and alcohol screening for employment is important because it protects everyone. Businesses lose less money by having reliable employees. Moreover,  employees can work effectively without unpleasant and problematic colleagues. The work environment is harmonious when it is alcohol and drug-free. Fortunately, there are several methods of testing. The type of test to use will be determined by the employers as to what they think is most beneficial for them.

One type is a breath test. It is a fast and non-invasive way of checking for alcohol content in the body. They can use it multiple times. Hence, it can be cost-effective in the long run. However, there are things to consider, like it cannot identify drug use. Nevertheless, it is an overall useful tool that they can use alongside another testing method. They can buy professional-grade breathalysers like BACtrack from Breathalysers Australia to ensure accurate results.