Timber iQ February - March 2019 // Issue: 42 | Page 44
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Any employee entering the workplace with a trace of alcohol, cannabis or any other non-prescription drug will fall foul of company policy.
A high risk
Since the legalisation of the possession and use of cannabis for private
purposes by the Constitutional Court, many concerns have been raised
about what this means in the workplace.
By Michael Opperman, Omni Labour Consultants CEO
E
mployers want to know how they will ensure that
people do not come to work under the influence of
cannabis, while employees fear they could be
subjected to unsafe and unwarranted behaviour from
colleagues who attempt to blame the legal use of cannabis
at home as the catalyst and expect to be exonerated from
their actions.
Employers must ensure they have policies and
procedures in place to ensure that employees are sober at
work. You need to read and understand the judgment of the
Constitutional Court very clearly in this regard. Judge
Raymond Zondo said he had, “Concluded that the limitation
is not reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic
society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.”
42 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019 //
He made an order declaring the relevant provisions about
the use of cannabis constitutionally invalid where it
criminalises the use or possession of cannabis in private by
an adult for personal consumption. It is clear that the
private use is allowed, and the argument would be about
when the use of cannabis is private.
ENLIGHTENED THROUGH LEGISLATION
To start with, ‘private’ does not include the use of the
substance in any public place or place of work. At the
workplace, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85
of 1993) and Regulations 1031 Section 2A applies
regarding intoxication.
See more on page 44
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