Rastafarians outside the Constitutional Court after the judgement on the private use of marijuana was handed down by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo yesterday, at Braamfontein in Johannesburg. Picture: Mokone Mphela
A total of 300 drivers have been fired after they allegedly tested positive for the use of marijuana.
The sackings – by Innovative Staffing Solutions – came not long after the Constitutional Court ruled that private use of marijuana, on private premises, was now legal.
However, the company contends that the court ruling does not apply in the workplace and that the workers, in any event, contravened a workplace code of conduct that prohibits the consumption of alcohol and drugs while on duty.
The company is, clearly, legally correct in its actions. However, the case raises a few issues to ponder.
For example, the drug may well have been consumed at home, but did it remain in the bloodstream at the time of testing?
Given that dagga has, up to the court judgment, been considered an illegal substance, has any research been done about “safe” levels in the blood, as is the case with alcohol?
Certainly, a company cannot tolerate drivers, controlling vehicles on public roads, being under the influence of anything … but times are changing.
As human resources practitioner Lucia Mabasa writes for us today, companies need to create a policy with staff “that’s in the spirit of the law but protects the rights of the company”.
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