What is workplace drug & alcohol testing?
Workplace drug and alcohol testing is a structured, clinician-led process that helps you manage safety risk and enforce a clear drugs and alcohol policy, fairly and consistently. It is most common in safety-critical environments, but any employer can use it.
Done properly, each result rests on informed consent, a documented chain of custody, accredited laboratory analysis and review by a Medical Review Officer.
Testing works best alongside a sound policy. We can develop or review your policy and run the testing under it, so the two fit together. Policy development →
Meet the clinical team →Testing programmes we run
From a single pre-employment screen to an ongoing programme, applied fairly under your policy.
Pre-employment
Screening new starters before day one, often for safety-critical roles.
Random
Unannounced testing across a defined group, applied fairly and consistently.
For-cause
Testing where there is reasonable suspicion or a performance or behaviour concern.
Post-incident
Testing following an accident or near-miss, as part of investigation.
Return to work
Follow-up or monitoring testing supporting a structured, safe return after a period away.
Six safeguards for a workplace testing programme
Select each safeguard your programme already has. The panel lists any that are missing.
Each non-negative screen is confirmed before it is reported
An initial screen gives a negative or a non-negative result. A non-negative result is confirmed at a laboratory accredited by UKAS to ISO/IEC 17025 and reviewed by an independent Medical Review Officer (MRO), who checks for a legitimate explanation such as prescribed medication. Only then is a result reported.
Based on the good-practice components in the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's 2026 guidance, Guidance on Alcohol and Substance Misuse in the Working Environment.
Drug & alcohol testing FAQs
The questions HR and safety leads ask most.
You can, but you should not. A clear policy is what makes testing fair and consistent. We can help you put one in place before any testing begins.
Yes. Informed consent is taken before any sample. A refusal is handled under your policy, not by compulsion.
It is the documented trail from sample to result that proves the sample was not tampered with. Drug samples are split into A and B portions at collection, so a result can be independently re-tested if it is disputed. A non-negative screen is confirmed at an accredited laboratory and then reviewed by a Medical Review Officer before anything is reported.
We use urine testing for the common drugs of misuse and breath testing for alcohol. The drug panel can be tailored to your sector and risk.
Testing gives you a laboratory-confirmed, MRO-reviewed result. Any decision rests with you, taking that result into account alongside your policy and process, and ideally with HR or legal input. A positive result does not automatically mean dismissal.
It is, when it is genuinely random within a defined group and applied consistently under a clear policy. It is most easily justified for safety-critical roles.
A negative screen is usually available at the point of testing. A non-negative is sent for accredited-laboratory confirmation and Medical Review Officer review before any result is reported, which can take up to 10 working days. We report verified results in confidence.
Yes. As well as testing in clinic, we can carry out collection at your premises or work site, which suits random and post-incident testing where speed matters. On-site arrangements are set up as part of your testing programme.
Further reading
Related services
Drug and alcohol testing often works alongside these:
Policy development
The drugs and alcohol policy your testing is enforced under – written or reviewed for your organisation.
Learn more →Pre-employment
Health screening that often runs alongside pre-employment testing, before day one.
Learn more →Management referrals
Where a result points to an underlying health issue that needs independent assessment.
Learn more →This page is general information for employers and is not individual medical or legal advice. We give clinical and process advice; for policy enforcement and any dismissal decision, take HR or legal input.
Set up a testing programme
Talk to us about a drug and alcohol testing programme built to FOM guidance. We answer enquiries within 3 working hours.