Payout for busman fired over cocaine from handling cash
A BUS driver has won nearly £40,000 after a tribunal ruled that the cocaine for which he tested positive came from handling bank notes.
Ken Ball, 61, of Canvey Island, Essex, was sacked when he failed a drug test after a shift in June 2017.
First Essex Buses accused him of gross misconduct and upheld the decision at two subsequent appeals.
But a job tribunal in London heard he picked up several students during his shift who paid with notes.
Mr Ball said cocaine found may have got into his saliva through bank note contamination. As a diabetic, he had to test his blood sugar regularly, causing sore fingertips which he said he licked continuously, the tribunal heard.
Employment Judge Tobin has now found in his favour, saying the company had been “grossly unfair”.
He said Mr Ball had had an unblemished 21-year career as a driver for the company.
When told he had failed the saliva test, he was “shocked” and “left floundering”, unable at first to understand how it could have happened.
The judge continued: “He explained that he had come back from a busy shift where he had picked up a lot of students and handled cash. He claimed that the constant handling of money and hand to mouth interaction potentially contaminated the sample.” Judge Tobin said the company had approached the case with a closed mind after seeing the initial positive test result. Mr Ball was repeatedly told during the disciplinary process that his own hair follicle test results could not be used. But the judge said the company had a policy which said it had to take all evidence into account. He added: “To discount evidence on such a basis was illogical, grossly unfair and in breach of the disciplinary procedures. “There was no suggestion, indication or evidence that Mr Ball was unreliable or that his performance was impaired through drug abuse. “There was nothing to suggest that any safety issues had ever arisen.” Sacking him was not a reasonable response. Mr Ball was awarded compensation totalling £37,639 for unfair and wrongful dismissal.