Us South Africans are a very hungry & thirsty nation and it being the period of the year where the most alcohol is sold per capita per day, friends and family coming to visit and of course the heat, it is almost expected of people to have a drink or 2 after work. Sadly if you are scheduled to work and you are not on leave, this is not allowable.

Having remarked on the year end function, I am reminded about a case I did years back where the employee got drunk (open bar provided by the company) and then made a fool of himself before then becoming insolent and insubordinate towards his superiors. When going into the hearing and subsequent arbitration, the employee’s defence was that the company provided the alcohol and thus they are also to blame for his bad conduct. Sadly, for the employee this defence did not hold up as he could not show any evidence that the company forced the alcohol down his throat against his wishes.

The commissioner also agreed that although the company supplied the alcohol, there is an unwritten rule and expectation that employees are not to abuse this and of course, because this remained a work function, to conduct themselves in a dignified manner which can be expected of employees of the company. I have subsequently used that ruling as well as others made by higher courts to defend this viewpoint but always advise my clients that when having a function where alcohol is going to be consumed that they caution the employees in advance that it is still a work function, and they are still to behave themselves accordingly.

The next issue comes in when employees who are scheduled to work (retail and wholesale, mining, security etc) drink too much the night before and then come to work still under the influence/ intoxicated. Employees often ask for mitigation, however the employer is justified in taking action and the reasoning is simple – they pay their employees to come to work sober and provide a service, and if an employee does not it is seen as misconduct and accordingly handled in terms of the company’s disciplinary code which can vary from a final written warning with deduction of that specific day’s remuneration all the way to dismissal.

I have an unpopular opinion / belief that should you realize that you are still under the influence/ intoxicated/ drunk, rather opt to stay home than come to work and take the risk. Is it not better to take a warning/ unpaid day than potentially lose your job? This is the same as driving under the influence – yes you might not get caught and get away with it, but it is a gamble and if you do get caught, you must live with the consequences.

Should you have experienced anything similar to the above and are not sure of whether or how to take action, please contact us so that we can advise suitably.