Sydney woman wins $70k in long lunch dispute with employers

An Australian woman has won a costly dispute against her former employer after she was fired for refusing a breath test following a company lunch.

Chantelle Tamati was awarded A$63,000 ($70,000) by the Fair Work Commission after it was determined her employer had acted “unreasonably”, news.com.au reports.

Tamati was sacked from her managerial position at Multiquip in April after her refusal to submit to a drug and alcohol test.

After the office workers took a four-hour long lunch at a Sydney establishment, one member of the group was reportedly “disruptive” on their return to the office.

The trio were asked to take a breath test but Tamati refused, claiming she was being “tarnished by association”.

She told the company’s national compliance manager and an HR manager she had only drunk a single Jim Beam and Coke and eaten a garlic pizza at the lunch.

As the two senior staff insisted she take the test, Tamati “felt the ‘quick chat’ turning into an interrogation” and left the office.

Four days later, she attended a disciplinary meeting where she lost her job over the incident.

She was out of work for four weeks and is now paid A$27,000 less in her new role.

These losses prompted her to take the company to the commission on the basis the dismissal was unfair.

While Multiquip claimed the national compliance manager had noticed Tamati “slurring some words”, the commission’s deputy president Tony Slevin ruled the grounds for testing were still not made clear to her.

“I agree that if the direction to Ms Tamati to take the test was made in accordance with the policy, then it would be a reasonable and lawful direction,” he said.

But without an obvious rationale for requesting the breath test, Slevin determined the dismissal was unfair.

Slevin noted the long lunch was “not considered out of the ordinary” at Multiquip.

Employing 1300 people across Australia, Slevin also said the company could be expected to have “thorough” dismissal procedures.