What does your company’s HR policy say about employees under the influence of alcohol on the job? Is it no tolerance, or does it depend on circumstances? Peru’s top court has ruled workers can’t be fired just because they’re drunk on the job.
The Constitutional Tribunal ordered that Pablo Cayo be given back his job as a janitor for the municipality of Chorrillos. He was fired for being drunk at work, according to wire service reports.
The justices ruled that the firing was excessive because Cayo didn’t offend or hurt anybody. The court also noted that it was just one incident, not a pattern of showing up intoxicated.
Peru’s Labor Minister criticized the ruling.
Celso Becerra, administrative chief of Chorrillos, also denounced the ruling. “We’ve fired four workers for showing up drunk, and two of them were drivers,” he said. “How can we allow a drunk to work who might run somebody over?”
