Mark Walker v Rotable Repairs Limited — 2025

Mark Walker was employed by Rotable Repairs Limited as an IT Officer from 7 February 2022 until his summary dismissal on 13 February 2024. The dismissal followed a random drugs test on 26 January 2024 which was positive for cocaine metabolite (benzoylecgonine). The tribunal accepted that the respondent operated a strict drug and alcohol policy in a highly regulated aviation-related business, that the claimant had signed to acknowledge the policy, and that the policy allowed random testing and treated a positive test as gross misconduct.

Applying the Burchill test, the tribunal found that the dismissing manager, Mr French, genuinely believed the claimant had committed the misconduct, that belief was reasonable on the evidence before him, and the investigation was broadly reasonable because the test had been carried out by an independent company. The tribunal also found that dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses in light of the respondent's zero-tolerance approach and the claimant's positive result, including the fact that he had implied at the disciplinary hearing that he may have taken cocaine on the weekend before the test.

The dismissal was nevertheless procedurally unfair because Mr French had obtained further information from the testing facility and had also carried out his own internet research, and that material was not provided to the claimant before the dismissal decision. The appeal did not cure that unfairness, because it was not a rehearing and the claimant could not address evidence he did not know about at the time.

On remedy, the tribunal held that the claimant would have been dismissed in any event even if the additional material had been disclosed, so there was no compensatory award on Polkey grounds. The tribunal then found, on the balance of probabilities, that the claimant had taken cocaine on the weekend before the test and had not self-referred before the test, so it reduced the basic award by 50% under section 122(2) ERA 1996. It calculated a full basic award of £1,929 using a weekly figure of £643 and three years' service, and awarded half of that sum, £964.50. The tribunal also recorded that section 207A TULRCA 1992 did not apply to the basic award, so no ACAS uplift was available on that element.