Drug or alcohol testing should only be undertaken where it is a part of a voluntary scheme to identify and treat abuse, or where there are clear grounds that misuse may put at risk the safety of others.

Drug testing is unlikely to be justified unless there is a reasonable suspicion that misuse will have an impact on safety.

Medical testing (including health questionnaires) should only be used in recruitment when an applicant has been assessed as suitable for employment. 

Employees must give there explicit consent to medical testing. This means  that such consent must be freely given, if the penalty for a refusal to consent is dismissal then the consent will not be freely given and would be invalid.

Medical records should only be kept in the control of a registered nurse or doctor.  The employer must not have direct access to the information.

Such records should only be stored with the express agreement of the individual concerned - and then only if the employer has a genuine reason for such information to be kept.  See also section on Employment Records indexed opposite.