A Bristol bus driver, who was sacked after testing positive for cocaine, has won a five-figure sum in compensation after proving that the test result came from bank notes passengers handed over to buy their tickets.
According to research, approximately 88 per cent of bank notes contain traces of cocaine and other illegal substances.
However, First Bus terminated Mr Alan Bailes’s employment after 22 years of service after he failed the random saliva test in May 2012, even though he insisted that he has never taken drugs in his life.
Following the result, Mr Bailes spent £440 on a more accurate hair follicle test administered by his GP, which came back negative and proved that he had not had drugs in his system for at least 90 days.
Despite the more accurate test result from his GP, First Bus refused to make an offer of re-employment.
After a legal battle lasting two-and-a-half years, Mr Bailes has won a five-figure sum from First Bus for wrongly firing him for “gross misconduct” in June 2012.
The company must now pay out after it failed to successfully appeal against a court ruling of unfair dismissal.
Employment Judge Christa Christensen said: “The respondent [First Bus] was aware that bank notes in general circulation are or could be contaminated by cocaine.
“This in turn means that it was incumbent on the respondent, as part of a reasonable investigatory process, to investigate the possibility that that reality may have some significance to the claimant’s positive cocaine drug test.”