is this unfair?

[surreyguy]

Hi all.

 

Re the hair test - this is done at an accredited lab . the hair sample is removed from the donor under strict supervision , hence there is no way of fooling this test !

 

Re the DNA sample - Owing to the fact that i have been with my girlfriend for 20 years and we have 3 beautiful children together , i KNOW that she has not conseumed any drugs , so to the question someone asked as to what i would do if the DNA proves that the sample WAS my girlfriends then i guess i would start eating that old hat of mine lol.

 

Trust me guys , theres NO way my girlfriend consumed drugs....she has way too many health problems to dabble with any drugs....they could kill her.....

 

We can obtain a court order for the release of BOTH the samples to be released to an accredited lab and tested and this is what we intend to do!

 

Thanks again , all replies are appreciated

[Bigredbus]

Hi 'surreyguy' and Ms 'surreyguy',

 

Hope everything is going according to your plans and that your girlfriend is more relaxed now...

 

You take care...

 

We're all behind you...

[honeybee13]

Indeed, BRB. surreyguy, do you have any news at all?

 

HB

[surreyguy]

Indeed, BRB. surreyguy, do you have any news at all?

 

HB

 

 

Hi all.

 

Yes , we do have some (good) news !

 

Girlfriend has had the hair test conducted , some hair was cut from around her crown area of her head and tested.....NO DRUGS/SUBSTANCES DETECTED!

 

Just as we knew there wouldnt be !

 

We also visited a (bloody expensive) solicitor who wrote some very strong worded letters ordering the release of BOTH of the urine samples provided on the day of testing (i.e my girlfriends and the other female tested) . They are now in the lab being re-tested and DNA tested.

 

We have (well the solicitor has) told the lab that we are certain that the samples were swapped so they are fully aware of the situation .

 

We have been told to expect the results around wednesday of next week , as that allows for the easter holidays.

 

So.....as you can see , we have been doing everything possible to sort this mess out BUT.............guess what????? employer is still adament that if the results come back showing that the samples WERE switched they wont be reinstating my girlfriend !!!!!

 

Surely they cant do this ??? Surely if this goes to tribunal we would win ?

 

Guy

[elpulpo]

Well, as I've said before, even if (when) it's established that an almighty cock-up had occured, they'll probably try and argue that at the time of dismissal it was reasonable for them to have come to the decision they did.

You have to show that that was not the case, and that they didn't pay any consideration to the procedural discrepancies of the test, and should, at the very least, have granted you a re-test.

 

Just one point, has the other woman given her consent to the remaining samples being tested? I'm not sure, but I'd have thought she would have to be consulted. I'd have thought she's cacking herself, no?

 

It's looking very positive over all though.

[mariefab]

BUT.............guess what????? employer is still adament that if the results come back showing that the samples WERE switched they wont be reinstating my girlfriend !!!!!

Surely they cant do this ???

 

I'm afraid that they can.

The Tribunal doesn't have the power to force her employer to reinstate her.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing because sadly it isn't difficult for a determined and careful employer to 'fairly' dismiss any employee.

 

Surely if this goes to tribunal we would win ?

 

I would think you'd have a good chance of winning, but it would be a monetary award in compensation for her unfair dismissal.

 

Following on from elpupo's point about the other woman's sample that you are having tested; if her sample tests positive for drugs you might want to take advice before releasing that information.

[surreyguy]

quote

 

Following on from elpupo's point about the other woman's sample that you are having tested; if her sample tests positive for drugs you might want to take advice before releasing that information.

 

 

Hi all and thanks for the rplies.

 

In answer to both questions , yes , the other female HAD to allow the release of the sample . On the day of testing , apparently their was a section in the small print which covered the release of the sample in the situation such as dispute over the validity . We visited a solicitor and took all the paperwork showing results etc which he studied and found this section in the small print so VERY useful.....

 

Cant wait til wednesday now lol

[elpulpo]

Grand.

[Bigredbus]

BRB sorry , im actually a bit lost after that last post from you (apologies , its been a long stressful day lol)

 

Are you saying that the tribunal MAY come to the conclusion that the employer has acted reasonably because they were within their rights to terminate girlfriends employment on the basis of the positive test result?

 

Lol i think i have just returned to earth with a (very painful) bump lol

 

thanks BRB

 

You will have to convince the tribunal that the employer should have carried a second test upon your girlfriend requesting one...

[surreyguy]

You will have to convince the tribunal that the employer should have carried a second test upon your girlfriend requesting one...

 

 

BRB

 

Yes , you are spot on there .

 

Maybe it's just me being in support of my girlfriend but i seriously think that the tribunal will arrive at THAT conclusion themselves.

 

I mean , surely ANY reasonable employer would have ordered a re-test........or at least thats MY opinion anyhow?

 

Guy

[Bigredbus]

You should go through the company's policy in terms of testing... do they allow re-tests? If yes, on which grounds and what is the procedure to follow...

 

Check with a different company, of similar size with similar number of employees... what do they do there?

 

If DNA tests establish that an exchange occured, then you should think about legal course of action against lab...

 

I am confident that you will get there successfully in the end...

[elpulpo]

Well, an employer should be seen to examine all alternatives to dismissal. So, in such a circumstance, where clearly there was ambiguity, they need to explain why they disregarded your request for a re-test.

[elpulpo]

I don't think the employee would have a claim against the testing company.

The employer would though:).

[Bigredbus]

The courts are generally split on whether to impose liability against drug testing labs. The courts that impose liability typically apply general negligence principles, while the courts that refuse to impose liability fail to apply basic tort doctrine. The former courts reach the correct result because they begin with a duty analysis and ultimately determine that a relationship exists between drug testing labs and employees such that it is appropriate to require the labs to act reasonably during all stages of the drug test...

[surreyguy]

 

Check with a different company, of similar size with similar number of employees... what do they do there?

 

If DNA tests establish that an exchange occured, then you should think about legal course of action against lab...

 

 

Hi all.

 

Firstly , BRB i have already been intouch with another testing company and when i told them what had happened they thought i was winding them up!!

 

They just could not believe that a testing agent could do something so highly un-professional.

 

The man i spoke to regarding this said that if a collection agent from their company behaved in such aa way it would be HIM/HER facing disciplinary action ! He also is 100% sure that this result will NOT stand up to scrutiny at a tribunal.

 

Secondly BRB , the collection company when they received a "presumptive" positive on girlfriend's sample then sent it to an independent lab for definative testing. So my fight is actually with TWO companies.

 

The collection company who BROKE the chain of custody AND the lab who TESTED the sample upon whcih the chain of custody had been broken.

 

Thanks again.

 

Guy.

[Bigredbus]

Hi Mr & Mrs 'surreyguy',

 

How is it all going?

[surreyguy]

Hi Mr & Mrs 'surreyguy',

 

How is it all going?

 

 

Well all , what a week it's been !

 

All results have been returned and.......................wait for it....................lol .............................the samples WERE switched!!!!

 

The TRUE sample found to be my girlfriend's was clear NO SUBSTANCES DETECTED AT ALL !

 

So , now we have it.....an almighty cock up has occured somewhere along the line whilst the two testing agents were out of the room !

 

BUT........... The employer still says that they treated my girlfriend fairly in her dismissal and so they are STILL determined to defend the claim all the way to tribunal !

 

Some people just annoy me lol

 

thanks for thinking about us guy's

 

Guy

 

 

p.s. I will be back later with more indepth details if anyone wants to know , am really busy at the min but just decided i needed to check in and let you all know the latest.

[griffzilla]

That's the result I was expecting!

 

I also assume that no action will be taken against the other party that was tested, despite the fact that her sample has now been proven to be positive?

 

G

[honeybee13]

Wow! It has been dramatic hasn't it?, but the employer's attitude defies logic. I'd be fascinated to know what happened when you have time, especially how you know the samples were definitely switched.

 

Thanks for updating us. I guess it's 'See you in court' next, is it?

 

HB

[surreyguy]

That's the result I was expecting!

 

I also assume that no action will be taken against the other party that was tested, despite the fact that her sample has now been proven to be positive?

 

G

 

 

Hi Griffzilla.

 

I havnt seen you participate in the thread before , so its nice to see that some people have been following .

 

At this point in time , i am stil unsure as to what action will be taken against the other girl and to be honest (im not being harsh , its just been long and stressful) im not really that bothered what happens to her !! I care about my poor girlfriend and the outcome of all of this ON HER !

 

Ok lol that DOES sound harsh !

 

Guy

[surreyguy]

Wow! It has been dramatic hasn't it?, but the employer's attitude defies logic. I'd be fascinated to know what happened when you have time, especially how you know the samples were definitely switched.

 

Thanks for updating us. I guess it's 'See you in court' next, is it?

 

HB

 

 

Hi Honeybee.

 

We received written confirmation from the testing lab that sample X - which was originally marked with a barcode which related to my girlfriend could not logically be matched to DNA taken from her during the later investigation .

 

The same testing was then conducted on the OTHER sample Y which had a barcode relating to THE OTHER girl and it returned a 99.9999999999999 % match to my girlfriends DNA !

 

Result ! lol

 

Guy

[Bigredbus]

Hi Mr & Mrs 'surreyguy'...

 

Well done for the hard work produced so far... your girlfriend can now rest!

 

Have a go, now, at finding, on the net, policies related to drug testing in UK companies... see if you can find what a 'reasonable' employer states on his policy about allowing staff a re-test if the employee suspects results are erroneous...

[griffzilla]

Hi Griffzilla.

 

I havnt seen you participate in the thread before , so its nice to see that some people have been following .

 

At this point in time , i am stil unsure as to what action will be taken against the other girl and to be honest (im not being harsh , its just been long and stressful) im not really that bothered what happens to her !! I care about my poor girlfriend and the outcome of all of this ON HER !

 

Ok lol that DOES sound harsh !

 

Guy

 

Guy,

 

Sorry, have been monitoring, but have kept quiet as testing isn't an area of expertise of mine. However did sense the injustice immediately, and am so glad that things are going on track for you.

 

Harsh - not really! As long as your partners name is cleared then I doubt any credible person would be in a situation to think of anything other than yours!

 

G

[stinkysrevenge]

b) They break the chain of custody (3 minutes absence during which anything can happen) and it is asserted by letter.

 

c) They refuse results of tests conducted by GP on the grounds that chain of custody cannot be confirmed...

 

--------------

Is it just me who thinks points B and C are ironic?

 

How can the company refuse to accept GP results when THEIR results are compromised?

 

Boggles the mind.

 

Hope your girlfriend screws them, surreyguy, and not in the good way.

[doompixie]

its nice to see that some people have been following.

 

Probably more than you think, I'm sure a lot of people are rooting for you and just don't want to clog up the thread with non informative posts (such as this )

I just found this thread and read it front to back, so as the voice of moral support I want to wish you well and hope you screw them, in a big way.

 

And I do apologise for getting any joy out of your situation but I'm intrigued over the details of what happened. It has me hopelessly interested and makes me want to go study law all over again.