Portuguese Court Says Drinking on the Job Can Make You Better
- 11 years ago
A Portuguese court ruled that a waste-removal company had to reinstate an employee it had fired for drinking on the job as the bottle of wine he had probably made him better at it.
A Portuguese court ruled that a waste-removal company had to reinstate an employee it had fired for drinking on the job as, among other reasons, the bottle of wine he had probably made him better at it.
A bit over a year ago, he and the driver of the scrap metal collection vehicle got into an accident while on their route.
Testing revealed the rough equivalent of a bottle of wine in his system and he was fired.
In a recent appeal of his case, the court decided that since the company didn’t have a policy against drinking on the job, they were wrong to have let the collector go.
It’s not like he was the driver or anything. The court acknowledged that then it would be a different story.
Given the circumstances and the unpleasant nature of his job, they said, drinking probably improved his performance.
It was reasoned that after a few stiff drinks, the guy probably forgot his problems and focused more on the task at hand.
The company must also pay the man 14 months of back pay.
A Portuguese court ruled that a waste-removal company had to reinstate an employee it had fired for drinking on the job as, among other reasons, the bottle of wine he had probably made him better at it.
A bit over a year ago, he and the driver of the scrap metal collection vehicle got into an accident while on their route.
Testing revealed the rough equivalent of a bottle of wine in his system and he was fired.
In a recent appeal of his case, the court decided that since the company didn’t have a policy against drinking on the job, they were wrong to have let the collector go.
It’s not like he was the driver or anything. The court acknowledged that then it would be a different story.
Given the circumstances and the unpleasant nature of his job, they said, drinking probably improved his performance.
It was reasoned that after a few stiff drinks, the guy probably forgot his problems and focused more on the task at hand.
The company must also pay the man 14 months of back pay.