Reasonable Cause Drug Testing Drug testing under reasonable cause should be specified in a drug testing policy. The policy should clearly set out under what circumstances reasonable cause testing may be required. A best practice policy will include a list of potential behaviours that might be considered to indicate drug use e.g drowsiness, inattention, erratic behaviour etc. The person being tested should be advised of the grounds on which the reasonable cause is based.
In terms of the testing itself, this should be undertaken by an accredited drug testing agency. Any consent forms and other forms required by the accredited agency will need to be completed and the identity of the person will also need to be confirmed. We recommend urine testing as this is the most reliable method of testing for drugs.
The threshold of establishing a “good reason” to refuse a drug test is high. For example, an employee who goes on stress leave and is signed off as medically unfit for work was not held to be a “good reason” for refusing a drug test in a recent case. The only case I know of where refusal to undergo a drug test was held valid was when the employee was attempting to obtain legal advice from his union in relation to the drug test and this advice was not immediately available.
Let me know if you need any further assistance.