BIN men, highways staff and construction workers could be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing if a revised council policy is approved.

Hyndburn Council has been working on revising its' drug and alcohol policy since earlier this year and has come up with a draft policy which could be approved by the management review committee on Thursday.

The council wants to revise its policy for the first time since April 2014, when it introduced drug and alcohol testing measures where the authority had just cause to suspect an employee may be under the influence.

Now the council wants to extend the arrangements to include random testing for safety critical roles.

These include workers who operate machinery, regularly drive, or work on the highways.

Employees who handle chemicals or dangerous substances and those who face a high risk of conflict could also be subjected to random testing, as could those who working at height, on construction sites, or in confined spaces.

Staff representatives from trade union Unison voiced concerns over the council's proposals at a previous meeting.

Since March, discussions have taken place behind closed doors in a bid to come to an agreement over the proposed revisions.

The outcome of these discussions is a revised draft, which the council says both sides are now able to agree on.

The main change is the inclusion of a “last chance” for anyone who is caught attending work with drugs or alcohol in their system above the workplace cut off level, if the person admits to having a problem and can show that they are seeking appropriate support.

In a report to go before the committee, the council's head of HR, Kirsten Burnett, said: "The draft has been amended to include a review after six (rather than the previous 12) months.

"The link to job evaluation has also been removed. The council would much prefer to proceed with trade union agreement.

"This means that the policy can apply as a contractual change through collective agreement, rather than individual agreement or imposition.

"Implementation of the revised Policy would follow a programme of staff briefings to ensure that they understand the changes and are given every opportunity to access support if applicable.

"No implementation date has yet been set but this is likely to be in October or November, if committee approval is given."

If the policy is approved, groups would be selected for random testing between six and 12 times each year.

This would only be increased in exceptional circumstances, such as a very high number of positive results.

There would be no set pattern to the time intervals between group random testing occasions.

The system would be reviewed after a year of operation and at agreed intervals thereafter and the trade unions will be invited to submit feedback.

A Unison spokesman said: "Unison are willing to agree the implementation of the proposed drugs and alcohol policy if it can be reviewed after a period of six months and then possibly at 12 months.

"We have concerns about supportive measures being in place for people who ask for help pre/post a positive result.

"Our concerns are around what, if any, disciplinary action is taken against people who have had a positive test and accepted help.

"We believe the reviews will enable us to discuss this further if necessary.

"We understand the need to be confident staff are working safely."

In 2017/18, Hyndburn Council spent £8,722 in total on drug and alcohol testing.