We work in a very dangerous environment with knives and machinery and want to implement a drug & alcohol policy that would allow for random, with cause and pre-employment testing. Can we do this with Union agreement and without the consent of each employee?

Health and safety considerations are very important in circumstances such as this as employers have, under common law and statute, a duty to ensure, so far as practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. Therefore, while drug and alcohol testing is often a controversial and sensitive issue (including raising human rights considerations), it can be acceptable if it is part of an organisation’s health policy and clearly designed to prevent risks to the misuser and others. For example, if this employer allowed a person under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol to continue working with knives and machinery, it could be in breach of its duty of care by putting the