Teams meeting with a joint? That didn't turn out well

In a recent ruling, an employee asked that his summary dismissal be set aside. What was the reason for the dismissal? 

The managing director of the Dutch branch of Pentagon decided to light up a joint at home during a Teams meeting. At the moment the joint was lit, his camera unknowingly turned on, causing the colleagues present to see him with the joint. At first, the employee claimed it was actually a cigar, but then admitted it was a joint and then dismissed the incident as a "stupid mistake". 

That the employee made a mistake, the district judge agreed. Employer had a zero tolerance policy on alcohol and drugs. This policy is in the personnel regulations which was known to employee or at least should have been.

Employee indicated that due to severe neck pain he sometimes uses cannabis in private time and that he only planned to smoke the joint after the meeting. This does not negate the fact that drugs were used during working hours. Moreover, this employee held a senior position. Indeed, the notice of immediate dismissal reveals that he held “the most senior management position of our company in the Netherlands. This obviously goes hand in hand with being a role model within the organization. The employee's behavior showed insufficient respect towards his colleagues. 

The judgment of the subdistrict court is therefore clear: the instant dismissal was justified. The violation of company rules does not go up in smoke, even in an online meeting and even if from a home office. 

What can we learn from this? 

Establish your policy and enforce a zero tolerance policy, because then there can be no discussion about it. 

You can find the link of the ruling here.