Our standards of behaviour and performance are important to our success and reputation. They are defined by our principles, our Code of Conduct and in our policies. Your responsibilities as a leader include ensuring your team understands our standards. You can do this by regularly setting expectations for behaviour and performance with your team. Where necessary you are expected to address issues of behavior or performance that falls short of these standards and get performance back ‘on-track’  including giving feedback and coaching. While generally disciplinary action is a last resort you should not hesitate to take disciplinary action in accordance with our disciplinary procedure policy when other efforts to get performance/behaviour back on track have failed or where there are allegations of misconduct or serious misconduct. In doing so you need to understand the legal considerations that apply to discipline, warning and dismissal including the need to have good cause for any disciplinary action we take and to follow a fair process. Team members have the right to challenge disciplinary processes by raising a personal grievance as allowed under the Employment Relations Act.  Some types of problems have unique features and require special handling and for these we’ve provided specific advice. They include absenteeism, dealing with suspected criminal activity or harassment/sexual harassment or bullying and dealing with people who arrive potentially unfit for work.

Out of hours or emergency situations

Sometimes a situation which may require serious disciplinary action occurs outside of normal business hours when you have no immediate access to your manager or Organisational Development and Capability. You may believe the person’s continued presence on site poses some risk to people, property or the upcoming investigation. Examples might include risk of; violence, verbal abuse, disruption to the workplace, damage to property or the risk they tamper with evidence needed for our disciplinary process. If you can’t contact your manager or Organisational Development and Capability, discuss the situation with the most senior person you can immediately contact. If you believe their continued presence genuinely is a risk, ask them to leave the workplace until the beginning of the next working day when you have had time to discuss the situation with your manager and Organisational Development and Capability. Tell them this is not a formal suspension but simply to make the situation safe until you had time to take advice.

What constitutes misconduct, serious misconduct?

Our disciplinary process

A flowchart describing our disciplinary process is set out opposite. Each step is explained in detail with links to the documents and tools you need. Alternatively, if you know the process well, the guidelines and documents you need at each step are listed below.