A new legal case deals with employers using breathalyser tests on employees in South Africa - and the limits that come with it.
Employers cannot rely on a breathalyser to test to see if their employees are under the influence of alcohol.Samancor Chrome Ltd v Rickus Willemse and Others,The employer had a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol in the workplace, and staff could not enter the premises if their breath alcohol level exceeded 0.00%.The breathalyser came back with a positive result – with the employee then failing another test on the same breathalyser and a different device. His blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.
The pathologist also argued that blood tests are far more accurate than breathalyser tests as the former can give false positives if the person has not eaten for more than eight hours or consumed a substance with yeast. The arbitrator ruled that the employee did not break the employer’s rules as the laboratory results, in tandem with the expert testimony, demonstrated that the employee did not have alcohol in his blood.
The court considered all the available evidence and noted that it was the employer’s responsibility to prove that there was alcohol in the employee’s system.
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