Ethics Guidance for Occupational Health Practice 9th Edition - Book - Page 78
4.35. The regulations impose a legal duty not only on the employer to provide
health surveillance, but also on the worker to present themselves for health
surveillance procedures when required by the employer. Health surveillance can
be undertaken only with the worker’s consent, and occupational health
professionals cannot force the worker to undergo surveillance procedures.
4.36. Programmes for biological monitoring and biological effect monitoring must
have a clear purpose and be well planned and implemented. They may be
undertaken to confirm the efficacy of control programmes.
4.37. Participation should include consent even when monitoring is required by law.
If the worker does not give consent, the occupational health professional
should advise them that this decision may have an impact on their employment
and should advise them to discuss further with their employer.
4.38. Although the purpose of the programme may be to use the grouped results to
assess and improve control measures, individual results falling outside agreed
parameters may require specialist interpretation and subsequent referral if
necessary.
4.39. Planning such programmes must include the communication of results. The
release of grouped results to all those responsible for the control of the risks
must be agreed in advance. Occasionally it may be necessary to release an
individual’s results to a third party to achieve the objective, but this can only be
with their consent, or in other scenarios where the occupational health
professional is under a duty to report e.g. in statute.
Drug and alcohol testing
4.40. For detailed best practice standards on designing and delivering workplace
drug and alcohol policies and testing programmes, readers should refer to the
Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s Guidance on Alcohol and Drug Misuse in
the Workplace 59.
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