Browsing: Drugs and alcohol | Page 24

Employers that adopt disciplinary-focused drug and alcohol policies are at risk of creating a culture of distrust, a new report has warned.

• More workers caught drug-driving in 2015 AUSTRANS blitz; and
  
• National rail safety changes coming soon.

The Ai Group has, in a submission to an inquiry into the illegal drug ice, criticised the CFMEU's new "impairment policy" as "far from 'best practice'", while the TWU has accused the employer body of "forcing" some workers to take drugs to tackle fatigue.

A union's bid for an employer to establish a "show cause group" - made up of employee representatives - to determine the consequences of failed workplace drug and alcohol tests, has been rejected in the Fair Work Commission.

An employer whose drug and alcohol policy didn't state when workers should stop drinking, prior to starting a shift, has been ordered to compensate an employee who was sacked for smelling of alcohol after the Melbourne Cup.

A FIFO worker who was attacked at a mining-camp tavern wasn't injured during an "ordinary recess" in his employment, and the Hatzimanolis test didn't apply to his case, a tribunal has found.

• "Boys being boys" claim rejected after glass threat;
  
• Stressed worker loses adverse action appeal; and
  
• FWC full bench finds drink-spiking claim implausible.

An employer that failed to "genuinely engage" in rehabilitation options for an employee, who sustained a psych injury more than a decade ago, has been ordered to pay him thousands of dollars in past and future gym-related expenses.

A manager who fell off a balcony while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol at a gathering at his home wasn't injured "in the course of his employment", a NSW tribunal has ruled, rejecting his claim that the gathering constituted a "seamless" continuation of a work function.

Workplace drug testing programs that rely on both urine and saliva samples provide a far superior deterrent against illicit drug use than single-method regimes, according to a Fair Work Commissioner.