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Landscape gardener Denny McLaughlin, 44, of Galston, Ayrshire was awarded £1816 in compensation by a Glasgow tribunal after saying he was stoned as a result of staff smoking cannabis.

The unfair sacking claim was against Evergreen Landscapes. Evergreen denied McLaughlin's claim that he was sacked because of lodging a personal injury claim against them following an incident involving a vehicle belonging to the business.

Evergreen's manager Paul Stenhouse said they fired McLaughlin from his £300 a week job last November after he was seen parked in a lay-by reading a newspaper when he should have been working at a house in the Whitecraigs area. Stenhouse added that honesty, punctuality, and accurate time-keeping were essential to the firm as customers were charged on that basis.

Evergreen Landscapes carry out garden maintenance work in the southside suburbs of Glasgow. Leaving early was only permitted in extreme situations.

Stenhouse said that when he spoke to McLaughlin the day after the alleged incident, McLaughlin denied leaving his job early. He claimed two days later that the clock in his vehicle was twenty-five minutes fast and also blamed bad weather. The issue of passive cannabis smoking wasn't raised.

Stenhouse added that he said he found it incredible McLaughlin would leave a garden to check the time rather than use his mobile phone. Mr McLaughlin claimed not to have had his phone with him that day.

The Glasgow tribunal found McLaughlin 50% to blame and said his tale about the effects of passive cannabis smoking was " inherently incredible." Chairman Raymond Williamson said that a reasonable employer would not have gone beyond a final written warning.

McLaughlin told the tribunal that he had felt "stoned" and unwell because his fellow workers were smoking cannabis and he decided leave at 3:40 pm. He added that he had been a registered drug addict but had been "clean" for twelve years. McLaughlin said he never smoked cannabis at work and didn't like it. He also claimed to have been responsible for previously firing three drug users.

He said that the £150 given to him by Mr Stenhouse for a Christmas meal the previous year had been spent on food, drink, and taxis for himself and a colleague and that he didn't obtain receipts as he wasn't asked to.

Stenhouse denied that Mr McLaughlin had ever raised any issues relating to drugs with him or that the accident or its consequences had any bearing on the disciplinary action taken.

McLaughlin said that he felt vindicated by the tribunal's decision.