WORKER SACKED AFTER RANDOM DRUG TEST 'SHOULD GET JOB BACK'

EMPLOYERS will no longer be able to sack workers who fail what is
regarded as a flawed drug test. This follows a landmark ruling.

Bosses will have to ensure that their tests comply with a recognised
European standard as a result of the first case on random drug
testing to come before the Labour Court.

The court has ruled that a Luas employee who lost his job should get
it back after he was dismissed for testing positive.

Implications

In its decision, it said employers cannot dictate the criteria of the
increasingly common tests and must consult workers before drawing up
guidelines.

The decision will have an immediate implications for thousands of
workers who are already subject to random testing.

It will also have major implications for companies like CIE, which is
in the process of setting up random screening for its 12,000-strong
workforce.

It has been estimated that between 3pc and 5pc of Irish employees,
who are subjected to drug screening, test positive for illegal
substances. The Labour Court ruled on an appeal by the Luas worker's
union, the TEEU, against a Rights Commissioner's decision allowing
his dismissal by French multinational Alstom Ireland.

The maintenance worker had worked for Luas for over two years when he
lost his job in September 2006.

His union argued that his test result of 8.6ng/ml fell far below a
European-recognised cut off point at which the quantity of a drug
would give a positive reading. This threshold is crucial in any
result as experts say anything below it can be explained by innocent
factors.

These might include consumption of over-the-counter drugs like
Solpadeine, using beauty products containing hemp or being in a room
where someone was smoking drugs.

The former head of toxicology at Beaumont Hospital and founder member
of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society, Anya Pierce, gave
evidence on international standards of testing on behalf of the worker.

Alstom operates a zero tolerance policy and the worker was fired for
"gross misconduct".

But the Labour Court found that no code of practice had been agreed
and this needed to be arrived at in consultation with trade unions.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said it is crucial that the way
random drug tests are conducted is regulated.

Restrictions

Its Legislation and Social Affairs Officer said that it was a
landmark case in accepting that guidelines set by the European Drug
Testing Society are seen as a minimum standard for tests.

Esther Lynch said the ruling would impose restrictions on employers
but there was an urgent need for regulation of the quality of tests,
thresholds, and recognition of the entitlement of workers to know
what test was used, and the result.

"Perfectly innocent people who never took drugs in their lives could
have tested positive in some of these tests," she said. "We can't
have a situation where employers decide scientific evidence and come
up with their own formulas."