A senior Metropolitan Police officer’s refusal to submit to a drugs test led to his termination earlier this week. The decision raises the question of whether private-sector employers can dismiss staff for illicit drug use or for failing to submit to testing.

Commander Julian Bennett was this week cleared by a three-person disciplinary panel of smoking cannabis. However, Bennett’s refusal to provide a urine sample for testing in July 2020 amounted to gross misconduct, the London tribunal held, leading to his dismissal.