A former Cadbury chocolatier has lost his unfair dismissal case after he was fired for refusing to take a drug test the day after he smoked marijuana.
Brayden Stacey, who worked at the Claremont factory from 2016 until his sacking in December last year, told the Fair Work Commission that he had “smoked a joint of marijuana to help me sleep” the night before.
Cadbury parent company Mondelez has a strict drug and alcohol policy to manage their “high-risk” factory environment.
The Commission heard that Stacey was randomly selected to undergo a drug and alcohol test at around 7am on October 12, 2023.
Stacey said he sent a text message to his supervisor saying he was going home, with the message: “Gonna have to go home sick, hate to do it. But had a few things I shouldn’t have last night. I know it’ll come up on the test so [I’ll] be told to go home either way. I feel fine and capable enough to do my job though, no issues there just know it’ll come back positive.”
His supervisor replied “OK”, with Stacey then waiting in the facility’s ‘smoko hall’ for about half an hour before leaving work at around 8am – walking 90 minutes to his girlfriend’s house.
Mondelez said their factory uses moving conveyor belts which could present a risk of injury to employees not thinking clearly, along with chemicals used for cleaning and various hot surfaces.
They argued chocolate was a ‘slippery substance’ due to its fat content and awareness is required to avoid slips and falls.
“There are several pedestrian and vehicle interactions at the site, including large delivery trucks and forklifts. Safety standards are also important as the Respondent is a food manufacturer to ensure product cleanliness and quality is maintained,” the Commission found.
Stacey argued he hadn’t received the training on Mondelez’s drug and alcohol policy, something the company disputes.
Commissioner Tim Lee found Stacey had “rather uninformed views” about his level of impairment and that his behaviour constituted serious misconduct.
“While the Applicant is in a position to state how he feels, he is not in a position to determine his level of impairment. He had no idea of the extent of THC in his blood stream and the level of consequent impairment,” Lee said.
The Commissioner ruled Stacey’s dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable.
