One in ten staff may be on drugs (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

One in ten staff may be on drugs

Ref. 28880-20One in ten Swindon workers is abusing drugs that is the startling estimate of a drug testing company based in Old Town.

Drug Test, the only independent sample testing company in the country, has been carrying out workplace testing since 1997.

Employers from across the UK pay for a collection technician to visit their premises and collect random breath and urine samples.

The breath results are given on the spot and the urine samples are sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Tests look for evidence of use of cannabis, crack, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines, including ecstasy, as well as abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs like Valium.

When director Malcolm Jefferies set up the company seven years ago one in 15 people tested positive.

Since then drug use appears to have soared. At least ten per cent of people tested are found to have been using drugs, with 75 per cent of positive tests showing use of cannabis.

"Drug use is massively on the increase," said the company's general manager Fred Case.

"Ecstasy use is widespread and there is also a lot of heroin. These drugs are much more readily available than they used to be."

Drug Test's services are in such demand that this month it is expanding its workforce by 50 per cent, taking the number of its sample collectors across the UK from 40 to 60.

It currently has 350 British companies on its books, reaching from Scotland to St Ives. Its turnover last year was about £300,000 this year it is expected to reach £1 million.

Mr Case said the company improved health and safety in the workplace.

"Employees who are misusing drugs can be a danger to themselves and others.

"People do some crazy things when they are under the influence of drugs and employers have an absolute duty under law to have regard to health and safety."

In some companies up to 50 per cent of the workforce was revealed to have been misusing drugs, and some individuals tested positive to as many as six different substances.

"Every company thinks they don't have a problem with drug use, and sometimes they are horrified when the results come back," said Mr Case.

Dorcan-based Tyco Electronics, one of 13 Swindon companies on Drug Test's client list, has been routinely testing new employees for about a year.

Stuart McIntyre, Tyco's human resources manager, said: "The safety of our employees is paramount and this is the logical step.

"We are upfront about our testing and our employees have been fine with it."

Thamesdown Transport employs Drug Test to carry out random tests among its employees.

"We owe a duty of care to everybody including the public," said Thamesdown's technical services manager David Spencer.

"You would only have to have one rogue driver or mechanic and the implications could be devastating."

Any Thamesdown Transport employee to test positive would face dismissal. The matter would be dealt with internally without contacting the police.

Andy Tate