A paramedic sacked for allegedly self-medicating with a pain relief drug while on duty will get another chance to push for reinstatement, with Queensland's Industrial Court upholding his challenge to a decision dismissing his application.
A tribunal has upended a large transport company's "unilateral" decision to change to zero its blood alcohol policy limit for contracted owner-drivers, finding a toolbox meeting and noticeboard postings did not meet the governing agreement's consultation requirements.
The FWC has reinstated a rail worker sacked for coming to work the day after he smoked his first joint in 30 years and has taken Sydney Trains to task over its purported zero tolerance for drugs.
A tribunal has held that a commander discriminated against officers he described as a "close knit friendship group of homos-xual like-minded" police in a complaint of possible drug use, while clearing the NSW Police Force of any discrimination in its handling of the allegations.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a Sydney Harbour ferry master who fell asleep while in control of his vessel after taking an over-the-counter cough mixture.
An experienced Qantas flight attendant who surreptitiously downed a quarter of a bottle of vodka on an 11-hour flight has failed to overturn her dismissal, with the FWC agreeing with the airline that she breached critical safety standards before trying to lie her way out of trouble.
The FWC has upheld the dismissal of a warehouse worker who repeatedly breached his employer's policies on smoking, eating and drinking in the workplace.
The FWC has castigated port operator DP World for its lackadaisical mental health policies in upholding a model long-term employee's dismissal for being drunk on duty.
An HR manager's "unnecessary allegations" and "overreach" have contributed to a finding that although a drug and alcohol tester's failure to declare he was taking Nurofen Plus provided a valid reason for dismissal, his sacking was unfair.
The FWC has confirmed the right of employers in safety-critical industries to dismiss workers whose out-of-hours conduct impairs the safe performance of their duties, in the case of a flight attendant who called in sick during a layover after being hospitalised with a blood-alcohol reading of .205.
