To be able to act, the employer needs to establish a sufficient link between what occurred and the work place.

Generally, employees can be disciplined for behaviour outside working hours only where that behaviour damages the employer’s confidence in the employee or the behaviour outside of working hours has brought the employer into disrepute.  An employee fighting in public whilst in uniform is the classic example of bringing the employer into disrepute.

The difficulty for employers is determining whether the behaviour outside of working hours is sufficiently related to the workplace.

Examples of behaviour considered sufficiently related are:

• A pilot who was convicted of Civil Aviation Act offences relating to his actions outside of work time.
• A union worker protesting against proposed employment legislation, using a work vehicle, and resulting in an arrest.
• An employee’s assault of a fellow employee.
• An employee’s assault of a client.

Once you have decided to carry out a disciplinary investigation then you need to follow all of the normal steps of that process.  Example after example we see in practice highlight that getting the process right is critical to defending your decisions if employees seek redress against you.  For a step by step guide see our Downloads section.