Driver fights drug claim

Coles worker sacked on his birthday rejects test result

A GLENORCHY Coles driver, sacked on his birthday after allegedly failing a drug test, is fighting the supermarket giant for unfair dismissal.

Alexander Tapier, who worked for Coles between 2013 and 2020, strongly denies he’d taken drugs and is questioning the test’s credibility before the Fair Work Commission.

In her newly published decision, Commissioner Leyla Yilmaz said an oral swab in December 2020 produced an unconfirmed reading of methamphetamine.

She said a further swab sent to a laboratory, according to Coles, produced a result of cannabinoids but no methamphetamine.

Mr Tapier said a week after the second swab, he was called into a meeting with a union representative and informed of the result and his probable termination.

“The next day he returned with a written response denying that he had taken drugs and produced a statutory declaration to that effect,” Commissioner Yilmaz said.

“After five minutes considering Mr Tapier’s response, he was summarily terminated without payment of his accrued long-service leave or notice of termination.”

Mr Tapier said termination without payment of his longservice leave and notice was unfair given his denial of drug taking, his length of service, and his questions regarding the credibility of the test result.

He also said in his last six months of employment, his job had been changed from the online department to “menial tasks” and ultimately to a driver. Mr Tapier said his employer showed a lack of empathy for his anxiety, and that his dismissal – “on his birthday and just before Christmas” – was grossly unfair.

Coles argued the non-payment of his long-service leave and notice period was due to his dismissal based on “serious and wilful misconduct”.

Commissioner Yilmaz granted Mr Tapier an extension of time in filing his claim, noting Coles had not provided an explanation for the inconsistent drug test results.

“It was known that Mr Tapier suffered crowd anxiety and he was taking medication,” she said. “It is surprising that Coles did not conduct further inquiries to ascertain whether the medication had any bearing on the explanation of the drug test result in light of his denial in taking illicit drugs.”

The case will be listed for conference at a date to be determined.