Millions of workers could face a daily alcohol test using a fingerprint scanner before they start their jobs.
The new device which uses near infra-red light to measure blood alcohol content in the skin will give employers a result in just eight seconds, making it possible to test 450 employees per hour.
The AlcoSense TruTouch scanner will be ideal for companies to test if employees still have any alcohol in their system from the night before.
Public sector staff in local government and the NHS and workers in the transport and security industries are likely to be the first to be targeted.
But unions have slammed the tactic as draconian and said employers should be trying to help employees with drinking problems not catching them out.
AlcoDigital, the company which distributes the device, says that daily alcohol testing is the 'only true way of eliminating on-duty alcohol impairment'.
Drug and alcohol testing at work has become a hot topic in recent years, with companies claiming heavy drinkers cost them millions in loss of productivity every year.
The new scanner raises the prospect of companies being able to test workers at any time of the day.
AlcoDigital told MailOnline the practice is already commonplace in many workplaces in the U.S. with one of their clients including the Coca-Cola factory.
But director Suzannah Robin said it is important for employees to be consulted before a regular testing system is brought in.
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She added: 'One of the things that companies say to us is that if they bring in random testing then individuals feel like they are being targeted.
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'But this way it involves everyone from the managing director down. It's difficult to say anyone is being fingered or singled out.
'From our point of view it's important that any alcohol testing policy that is brought in has the full support of employees.'
But Unison General secretary Dave Prentis condemned the move as using 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut'.
He told Metro: 'If workers have a problem with alcohol, their employers should not be relying on a gadget to entrap them but should be providing them with proper support.'
A statement on the AlcoDigital website reads: 'Random screening can deter the casual user, but those with a serious alcohol problem are far less likely to change their inherent behaviour patterns. 'For this reason this form of occasional screening can fail to have the impact the company is looking for and alcohol use can continue to cost the company, and thousands of others, billions of dollars a year.