Can an employer has the rights to check consumption of drugs

Dear Student,

Please post the query with the context to fix the perspective and provide suitable response

An employee is alcoholic. Inspite of knowing that he should not work in an inebriated state, he consumes drugs / alcohol before reaching office. There is a permissible limit in the level of consumption, so to measure the same, can the employer put such suspicious employees under test? Has the employer has the rights to do so?

@ Author,

It can be done if it is part of HR Terms / Labour Laws practiced in-houe / Employment Policy and Employees have already signed disclosure Consent.

1. A majority of employers now use saliva to test potential employees and current employees for drug abuse.

2. Saliva testing kits are available to the general public and can be bought online from BBS sites and or from ATC drug stores.

3. The procedure is not complicated, and testers get to stay in the same room as those being tested to ensure there is no "cheating" involved.

4. Collecting saliva can also be safer than collecting urine or blood samples. The test checks for the use of several drugs all in one swab.

5. It is not covered under Fundamental Rights and cannot be denied is based on Employer - Employee Agreement for Job.

In your specifics before the forum actually NO. It cannot be done retroactively now. For that the Company's HR policy needs re-drafting and re-signed across board by all Employees to get covered.

The only way is to call police and report the nuisance value the specifics generated and police under investigation mode will do the testing and same can be retrieved via RTI to censure / suspend / demote / send him on paid holiday or offer him a rehabilitation package whatever subsequent action an Employer wants to take hiding behind the commercial site nuisance an Employee committed to an Estabilishments “best interests” but be wary of some Union / Labor problem if not technically handled J

BTW, in India average Employee hardly know of their Rights and Fundamental guarantees given to them as per our Constitution of India Art. 16, 24, 41 till 43A etc..  By the time an Employee knows about it the factual matrix gets controlled is my reverse solution put across the table in absence of specific estabilishment we are talking here that of!

No employee can be at workplace under the influence of alcoholic beverage, prohibited drugs, leave apart, inebriated condition. Police is equipped with Alco meters now adays. Employer can lodge complaint and police usually takes the accused to civil hospital for test. Witness of security staff, co employees should be recorded.