If you’re considering implementing drug testing in your Perth or WA business there is a choice you need to make – do you use urine drug testing or saliva drug testing? In theory this might seem like a simple choice between two collection and analysing methods, but in practice there are pros and cons that need to be considered.
Urine drug testing
- The person being tested for drugs provides a urine sample.
- A test strip or lab reagent can then be used to test the urine sample for drugs.
- Providing all the resources are available, the testing is usually carried out immediately, with results obtained within several minutes.
Saliva drug testing
- The person being tested rubs a collection device around the inside of their mouth.
- The collection device is then inserted into a drug analysing unit.
- Printable, auditable results are obtained within 5 minutes.
The key differences between urine drug testing and saliva drug testing
- Restroom facilities are required for urine drug testing, which make drug testing in some places (e.g. on the side of a road or in a remote part of a factory) problematic. Modern saliva drug testing equipment is portable, which allows drug testing to be conducted virtually anywhere.
- For those being tested, urine drug testing can be intrusive, while saliva drug testing isn’t. This means that saliva drug testing is more likely to be accepted by your employees. This aspect has been key to a number of Fair Work Australia decisions, ordering businesses to switch to saliva drug testing from urine drug testing.
- Close supervision is important for both methods to ensure accuracy. While this is easy for saliva drug testing, for urine collection it’s an invasion of privacy. This leads to the potential for a person being tested to avoid detection by substituting or contaminating a urine sample.
- The period that drugs can be detected is generally longer using urine drug testing than it is for saliva drug testing. This leads to the possibility of an employee testing positive to a drug when they are not under its influence and are safe to work.
Urine drug testing or saliva drug testing for your WA business?
Unlike some of our competitors, Integrity Sampling offers both urine drug testing and saliva drug testing methods across WA and the entire nation. While we do recommend and prefer saliva drug testing because of the points outlined above, we understand that some Perth and WA businesses prefer to carry out urine testing. If that is your preference, we’re more than capable of meeting your needs.
To find out more about which drug testing method is better for your Perth or WA business, phone Integrity Sampling on 1300 SALIVA.
Integrity Sampling carries out urine drug testing and saliva drug testing at seven Western Australian locations, including Busselton, Dampier, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Perth and Port Hedland.
