Will you get drug tested for an admin position at an engineering firm?

[mousetrapmoose]

Not sure if this is the right forum to ask but thought it would be useful given the company policy is in compliance with Railway Group Standard RIS 8070 and Network Rail standard NR/L1/OHS/051.

I have an interview for a project assistant role at a company and when looking through their website for research on the company I found their drugs and alcohol policy which is in compliance with Railway Group Standard RIS 8070 and Network Rail standard NR/L1/OHS/051.

Does this mean I will get a pre employment drugs test?

I smoked weed once a couple nights ago with a friend (only time in over 6 months). Now I am freaking out at the possibility I will miss out on this opportunity because of one night smoking.

If anyone has any advice, that would be great. I'm not really sure what "Railway Group Standard RIS 8070 and Network Rail standard NR/L1/OHS/051" means.

Thanks

 

[TheEdge]

Technically anyone working for the railways can be subject to a D&A test. In practice it only tends to happen to operational grades who will be near the actual trains. If it'll be done if you are taking up office work for what I guess is a third party contractor is hard to say either way.

Free advice though, if you want to stay working near trains and don't get caught this time then make sure that was your last spliff.

 

[mousetrapmoose]

Technically anyone working for the railways can be subject to a D&A test. In practice it only tends to happen to operational grades who will be near the actual trains. If it'll be done if you are taking up office work for what I guess is a third party contractor is hard to say either way.

Free advice though, if you want to stay working near trains and don't get caught this time then make sure that was your last spliff.

Appreciate the advice.

Given the nature of the job, I'll mostly just be working with databases and no where near trains. At least I hope so given I don't know anything about trains (pretty ironic given I'm on a rail forum I know).

I'm definitely avoiding it until this interview and beyond though. This job is far more important than smoking and not worth the risk.

 

[D5581]

Depends who you work for.
I was an office based design engineer for Amey and got randomly tested a few times.

 

[MistaMatthews]

You said it was just once and Given the speed of the employment process in the rail industry, you will be fine.

 

[mousetrapmoose]

Depends who you work for.
I was an office based design engineer for Amey and got randomly tested a few times.

So you think there's a pretty good chance I'll be given a pre employment D&A test?

 

[D5581]

So you think there's a pretty good chance I'll be given a pre employment D&A test?

If you get offered the job, 100%

 

[83A]

If you do get the job. Let’s hope there is a well stocked vending machine for snacks at work

 

[Stigy]

You’ll almost certainly be screened for drugs when you are offered a job on the railway, no matter what it is. You won’t necessarily be screened for alcohol though depending on the role.

 

[ST]

If you do get the job. Let’s hope there is a well stocked vending machine for snacks at work

This cracked me up!

 

[marty1977]

Let's just say if you want this job and to keep it make sure the "once in 6 months " is your last. Sorry no matter how much society's views on weed have "moved on" the railway's haven't and rightly so.

 

[bussikuski179]

Yeah trains and weed simply don’t mix. We saw what happens when you’re driving trains while high in Chase, Maryland in 1987, an Amtrak and 3 engines collided when the driver and secondman of the engines were smoking weed, that crash killed 16.

 

[Eloise]

Office based staff can, and have been, randomly selected for screening. Whilst office based I could be asked, and have been asked, to visit a signal box on the same day. Also whilst not frontline as such what I do, making decisions, calculations etc, need to be undertaken with a clear head so to speak. They could affect someone frontline minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years down the line.

 

[PupCuff]

You almost certainly will be subject to a drug and alcohol screen (that said some pre-employment medicals are currently being done via zoom which may make it difficult to analyse your urine sample), but assuming you're not a regular drug user I shouldn't worry too much. I've never taken drugs - the beer's a strong enough intoxicant for me - but plenty of colleagues have in their younger days and they seem to have turned out okay (if a little bonkers, some of them, but I don't think that's the drugs). Cannabis can stay in your system for weeks but if you've not even had the interview yet then it's fair to say a fair few more weeks will pass before the medical, and if you aren't a heavy user then the likelihood is it would be long out of your system or at least to such a level where there's nothing to be concerned about. Just remember that you could be screened on an ongoing basis, and you'll be expected to be clean of alcohol and drugs if this takes place so it'll be goodbye to any pot for now. It's very very easy working on the railway to think 'what a day, I need a few beers to relax', but if you're in at 0600 or whatever the next morning then really you'll need to have the self-discipline to tell yourself no.

 

[Eloise]

I would second the point re think about the morning after. Seen a few caught out by that.

 

[whoosh]

It used to make me laugh that me and a friend of mine worked up the road from each other. He used to go for pub lunches with his workmates (which could sometimes involve several drinks!), before going back and doing chemistry experiments in a laboratory.

Meanwhile I was subjected to a drink and drugs policy that was stricter than for driving a car, merely because I worked for the railway. I worked in an office planning timetables and was nowhere near the operational railway.
I didn't dare even be seen in a pub.

EVERYONE who works on the railway, has to adhere to the same Drink & Drugs policy. The only difference really, is the threat of prosecution in some rôles (not just the sack), and that some prescription medicines aren't an issue for some rôles.

 

[High Dyke]

So you think there's a pretty good chance I'll be given a pre employment D&A test?

It may be down to the policy your prospective employer has. However, as you've already identified they must comply with the Network Rail D&A Policy. It also depends if your job role is classed a 'Safety Critical' post.

Extract from the D&A policy.