It’s just before midnight and your shift in the warehouse will soon begin. Your feeling tired already, likely not helped by a few joints of cannabis you smoked with mates that afternoon. So when you leave the break room with your head down, you don’t notice the workplace drug testing station that’s been set up until you’re right on it.
“Mandatory drug testing,” explains your supervisor. “Nothing to worry about. Just provide a sample of your saliva and you’ll be on your way in a few minutes.”
However, you know there could be something to worry about, as you wonder how long it takes for cannabis to leave your system. What should you do? Take the drug test and hope everything will be okay?
Then a thought comes to your head. “Can my boss really demand me to take part in workplace drug testing? Isn’t that unlawful or something?”
Workplace drug testing from an employer’s perspective
To answer the above questions, it’s worthwhile looking at this from an employer’s perspective, starting with a simple question: Why does your employer conduct drug testing?
The answer to this question is simple – safety. Employers are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of their employees. Therefore, in industries like transportation, construction, manufacturing, mining, aviation and, yes, warehousing, drug testing plays a critical role in maintaining workplace safety.
Here are a few other important points to keep in mind, when it comes to an employer’s rights to demand workplace drug testing:
- Although Australian law doesn’t mandate workplace drug testing, employers are still obligated under Occupational Health and Safety laws and industrial manslaughter legislation to ensure a safe work environment. Drug testing is a proactive way to meet this duty of care
- To avoid legal complications, workplaces should have a robust and detailed drug and alcohol policy. The policy should include a clear outline of any workplace drug testing that takes place, including methods and consequences.
- Your drug and alcohol policy should be communicated to staff regularly to ensure understanding and cooperation.
- Policies should not only focus on discipline but also provide avenues for employee support and rehabilitation when needed.
- There are various testing methods, such as saliva and urine testing, with saliva testing often recommended due to its non-invasive nature.
- Testing can be done randomly, post-accident, during pre-employment or based on reasonable suspicion. Which you choose should be included in your policy.
- Maintaining fair, consistent and legally compliant testing processes is essential to protect employers from legal challenges, especially in cases where employees may be dismissed after a positive test result.
- Employers should regularly review and update their policy to ensure ongoing compliance and to keep testing procedures in line with evolving workplace needs.
Back in the warehouse…
Meanwhile, back in the warehouse and your question on whether your boss can demand workplace drug testing. The likely answer is yes, although it does depend on your workplace’s policy around drugs and alcohol and how well the policy has been implemented and communicated.
A warehouse is an environment where safety is a high priority, so the employer has every right to implement testing. In your case, the best thing you can do is take the test, hope you aren’t still under the influence and provide a negative result.
If you do fail the test, remember that it may not be such a bad thing. For starters, you’re safe. If you are under the influence and had been allowed to work around risks such as heavy machinery, falls and manual handling injuries, the outcome could be far worse. Plus, in many workplaces, you might receive a negative note on your employment record, counselling and support, but get to keep your job.
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Employers in industries like warehousing can generally demand workplace drug testing to protect workers and prevent accidents. It’s all about safety.
