An analysis of dismissal of an employee on the grounds of intoxication and alcoholism

Abstract

The overlap between misconduct and incapacity in case of intoxication and alcoholism remains a grey area. It is trite that an employee can be dismissed if under the influence of alcohol during working hours. On the other hand, the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal for conduct and incapacity in item (10) of schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 singles out alcoholism as a form of incapacity that may require counselling and rehabilitation. There is a thin line between cases in which intoxication can be treated as misconduct, and those cases in which alcoholism should be treated as incapacity. The purpose of this study is to critically analyse dismissal on the grounds of alcoholism and intoxication at the workplace.