Frequently Asked Questions
- All
- Medical Review Officer
- Pre-employment health screens
- Rail Category 3 Medical
- Respirator Fit Testing
- Workplace Screening
With appropriate consent, employers can have a copy of the pathology results. We would caution against this as interpreting results can be difficult. In fact, there is a specialist course for doctors for two days to train doctors in interpretation. Medical review officers (specially trained doctors) are best placed to assist in the interpretation of results and advice on the management of individuals in line with your organization’s policy.
Yes, there is a lot of supporting evidence that have led to health related problems by workers not having a close fitting face seal, microscopic particles can enter in to the repository system and cause irreversible health conditions, there have also been industrial relation decisions on standing workers down if they do not meant this requirement.
Workers that wear respirators need to make sure that they are wearing them correctly, any work that requires the use of respirators means that they fall under the required standards, this is a great thing that you want to offer greater protection to your staff but having the fit testing program meets the standards and gives your staff the full benefits of wearing the respirators correctly.
No, we believe that we do a great job and that if we lock you in it would only mean that we are trying to control that agreement, we are old school, a shake of the hand agreement and our word is our bond. If you have a tender or a contract for us, we are happy to meet and fulfil your arrangements.
If your principal Contractor has requested and it meets all the requirements of the standard, then yes, it is your obligation to meet this requirement. Truhealth Solution will assist and lodge the assessments on the online porthole for the principle to view as well as providing hard and electronic copies for your records.
Because you are probably more at risk with the higher turnover of workers, then not having a base line assessment of functional abilities could result in a Workers Compensation claim, where you are liable for the full loss, rather than the proportional amount if any caused by the work or the nature of the work they conducted with your organisation.
Under a business’s duty of care, you have a responsibility to identify potential safety risks in your workplace and either eliminate or reduce that risk. Drugs and Alcohol in most high risks industries is recognised by the code of practice to be a safety risk. A business must be able to demonstrate what steps it has taken to address its duty of care regarding this specific risk. Having a compliant policy and a regular testing program in place is paramount if you are to be able to demonstrate you are addressing this risk. It is recommended testing at least 25% of your staff annually on a random basis. This is best completed on numerous occasions, as opposed to once per annum, as it become unpredictable sending your staff a clear message that they can be tested anytime not just once annually or a set intervals.
We have tailored hundreds of compliant drug and alcohol policies and procedures documents for businesses and can deliver a compliant document from $225 which considering the importance of this document is a very small price to pay for peace of mind.
Urine drug screening if commonly regarded as the better option for testing for impairment for drugs as it does have a longer detection time particularly for Cannabis. It is also the preferred option for blanket testing of staff when you are looking to gain a baseline to identify is you in fact have a drug problem in your workplace. Saliva however if still effective and less invasive than urine but is predominantly used as a test for impairment. The detection times for impairment is in some cases less than urine but it is still a useful approach to demonstrate to staff that your organisation is serious about safety in your workplace when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
It is possible to dismiss for this reason, but you will need to ensure that your D and A policy clearly sets out this can happen. It is not common for dismissal to take effect on a first offence. Usually the employee is sent home and given a written warning and if it occurs again then dismissal may follow but this is still dependant on what your disciplinary policy sets out.
It is recommended that all existing staff should attend a minimum of 1 toolbox presentation per annum to review yours and their duty of care regarding drugs and alcohol in workplace. All new staff should have this policy covered in induction.
Firstly, if you have been made aware that one of your staff may be impaired in the workplace under your duty of care you are compelled to act and address this potential safety risk. You can have the individual tested but without a compliant D and A policy in place you will be unable to dismiss the employee if the result returned is positive. This is only recommended when you have a compliant Drug and Alcohol policy and procedure in place and all your staff are aware of the policy and have been given adequate time to read and understand the policy.
By insisting that all potential new employees complete a Drug and Alcohol test allows you as the employer the opportunity to gain an understanding if the potential employee has in the past engaged in the use of illicit drugs. Understanding this allows you to make a clear decision to whether you want to introduce that behaviour into our business. It also deters potential employees from applying if they know that they will be tested at pre employment stage and potentially ongoing in your business. Therefore, removing a future risk to the safety of your staff and business.