Advice Needed re drug testing and suspension

EnPointe

comeandgo said:

What does her employment hand book say?  In our book it states drug tests could be done and what the consequences are if you refuse or if you fail.  You seem to be trying to justify her drug taking, it’s not on company time so it’s nothing to do with them, sorry that attitude is wrong.

Exactly this .

 the uinfortunate  reality is that anyone who is a habitual , even occasional , user of   controlled substances under the misuse of drugs act is a criminal in the eyes of British law   and therefore  brings the firm into disrepute. 

aside froim being intoxicated  at work ,   drug use  makes you a corporate and infosec risk 

_Jem_

I have to say smoking drugs is up to one self but it's not legal, so if you get tested at work it's on your head, either you smoke or don't but with anything illegal its don't do the crime unless you are prepared to do the time.

Lomast

As others have said, we need to know exactly what the company policy/ handbook states regarding failing a drugs test.

Where I work we do random and reactive drug testing, if the local test is a fail then the sample is sent for lab analysis which not only says what they have taken but also the amount in the blood stream.

Our company policy is then to use the limits set by the government for Drug driving, any amount below that in the system is still a failed test but is not subject to disciplinary.

Someone failing a test but being below the limit is likely however to be subject to more tests in future but will also be offered support in where to get help if required.

prettyandfluffy

If your daughter feels there is a likelihood of being required to have a drugs test and there is a risk of failing it, she might be better to resign rather than have that as a reason for dismissal.

secla

Unless shes a heavy user drug detection in urine is quite a short period 7 days or so generally so it should be reasonably easy to get a negative if shes been told about it in advance

penners324

Has she made complaints to HR about this person? If not why not?

She could go to the police as well. 

k12479

PinkRaven said:

My daughter has been in her job for 15 months.

With all this drama in the space of barely over a year, I'd be looking for a better workplace.

_Jem_

penners324 said:

Has she made complaints to HR about this person? If not why not?

She could go to the police as well. 

How can she without proof. I think maybe there is more to this.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Something else about this doesn't make sense.  The OP's daughter currently works in one of her employer's branches, call it Branch A.  She is in the process of buying a house in a completely different area, which is served by another branch - Branch B, for the purposes of this discussion.  The daughter intends to transfer to Branch B upon completion of the purchase of a house within Branch B's locality.

The post states that the issues with the male colleague are occurring at present and that he is physically present in the daughter's workplace.  That strongly implies that the male colleague works at Branch A.  If the daughter is shortly due to leave Branch A, then what is the problem?  The male colleague is unlikely to up sticks and follow the daughter to Branch B, so by moving she is going to escape him entirely.  It's possible they might meet at company events, but that's not the end of the world - he'll probably forget the daughter exists a week or so after her departure.  In addition, assuming he's not a manager, the rogue colleague will have precisely no say in what goes on at Branch B.  

If the above is the case, then surely the best advice for the daughter is to lay off the jazz cigarettes for a bit, take (and pass) the drug test and get on with constructing a new life working at Branch B?  Toughing it out for a month or two has got to be better than the consequences of doing something silly in the short term.  If the situation really is unbearable, there's also the possibility of transferring to Branch B with immediate effect and living in temporary accommodation nearby, whilst the house purchase completes.  

Am I missing something? 

simongregson

Taking the drug test can't be avoided unfortunately, but as others have said depending on what she uses and if she has stopped it could well be out her system by now.

However, she could put in writing a grievance about the homophobic colleague, all managers like people to speak to them first but a paper trail is important, even if it is just a follow up to a conversation (i.e. Further to our conversation where I raised the homophobic behaviour of x, I'd be grateful if you could keep me updated etc.) - it would be even better if this had been done as soon as the issue appeared as the chronology of the colleague reporting her, her passing 2 drug tests, then wanting a further test done despite the negative results would be quite compelling.

It is also worth reporting the other colleague who takes drugs recreationally assuming they are involved in the unfair treatment. Sexual orientation is a protected characteristic and discrimination based upon this would be exempt from the 2 year qualifying period for a degree of protection from dismissal. It would mean the employer would need to not treat her less favourably than the other colleague - it doesn't give her protection from dismissal if her drug test is positive but it does mean the employer would need to investigate and respond in a way that doesn't favour the other colleague.

It might be worth them contacting the HR department, just remember they work for the employer, however if it is a large firm and they have centralised HR who are not connected with the branch someone contacting them to complain about victimisation due to a protected characteristic, 2 passed drug tests (do ask HR what their written policy is on drug testing and check this has been followed, I would say it would be unusual to insist on follow up to a negative swab test, it would be more likely as a follow up to a positive test. Also ask for a copy of the grievance policy and the disciplinary policy) , preferably with names and dates, it may set the alarm bells ringing and cause them to expedite the move to the new branch - no employer wants to be at the end of a direct discrimination claim.