Oral Fluid Drug Testing FAQ

Oral fluid drug testing detects recent drug use from a saliva sample and is simple and easy to administer. Sampling with our oral fluid testing kits will provide an instant result and the testing can either be observed by trained company representatives or by AlphaBiolabs’ trained collectors. We can also provide a rapid confirmation service for samples which are non-negative on site.

Oral fluid testing is suitable for all testing reasons – from pre-employment to random to for-cause and post-incident.

Companies use pre-employment oral fluid drug testing and random testing for employees to protect the business from the risks of workforce drug use. Oral fluid testing is easy to administer, difficult to adulterate and requires no special facilities for collection.

For most drugs the window of detection is 24 – 48 hours.

The oral fluid kits can detect a variety of substances such as amphetamine, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, methadone and ketamine.

Cut off levels refer to the minimum concentration of drug in a sample which can be deemed positive. Our drug and alcohol testing service follows the guidelines and cut off values set out by the European Workplace Drug Testing Society.

We work to the highest standard in the industry and hold accreditation to ISO17025.

Our DNA, drug and alcohol testing service has been carrying out DNA, drug and alcohol testing for the legal profession for many years. All our legal tests follow a strict chain of custody and are legally admissible in UK courts.

At the collection site, the donor provides the sample and the collector observes the procedure. If the sample is non-negative, it will be placed in a tamper evident bag.

The necessary documentation will be completed and the sample transported to the laboratory for confirmation of any drugs which are non-negative on site.

This should be addressed in your drug and alcohol testing policy. Some companies will commence disciplinary procedures but this varies according to individual policies.

Some policies outline that if an employee declines a drug or alcohol test, their test result will be an automatic fail.

No special facilities are required.

Introducing a drug and alcohol testing policy in the workplace is not expensive and the company will actually gain greater productivity, less accidents and subsequent litigation.

No, the employee should continue eating and drinking normally and keep taking any prescribed medication.

Yes, an employee has the right to challenge a positive oral fluid drug test result and ask for a retest. They will not be permitted to give another sample but the retest will be carried out on the remaining portion of the original sample, which the laboratory still holds. Depending on the company policy, the employee may have to cover the cost of the retest.

Oral fluid testing can detect drugs in saliva approximately 30 – 60 minutes after ingestion which is very useful in post-incident testing.

Potentially yes, they can cause a false positive when using the screening device but all non-negative results are confirmed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to eliminate this possibility.

It is possible that donors may try to introduce something into the collection device. However, this risk is highly unlikely since every collection is directly and easily observed.

The donor collects their own sample under the direct visual supervision of a trained collector. This process takes approximately five minutes and is very difficult to challenge as the donor has performed the collection whilst under observation.

To arrange any of our business services or workplace drug and alcohol testing services please contact our friendly UK based customer service team on 0333 600 1300 or info@alphabiolabs.com.

Feel free to get in touch with any workplace testing enquiries at all that you may have. We also have Toxicology specialists at hand to provide expert advice and interpretation of results if your situation is particularly complex.