What if an employee blames cough mixture for failed alcohol tests, what are the legal implications?

In this episode of our What If series, we explore whether a zero-tolerance alcohol policy still holds when an employee unknowingly consumes alcohol through cough mixture. We unpack the July 2025 Labour Court case Chill Beverages International v CCMA and Others, where a forklift operator was dismissed after failing a breathalyser test—despite claiming the alcohol was from medication. What followed was a legal balancing act between safety policies and proportional fairness. Can intent and context outweigh company rules? Brought to you by Ross Simon Maserumule Corporate Employment Law For more articles and corporate employment law resources visit our website at www.masconsulting.co.za