Defining misconduct

- Misconduct is not about an employee's performance at work. An employee can do a brilliant job and still be displaying misconduct. It's about their behavior towards others or the company and whether or not it's considered to be inappropriate. What constitutes inappropriate behavior in your company should be clearly defined because you need to make reference to it when you manage a misconduct case. Your company should have a clear policy or a code that defines what inappropriate behavior looks like and the degree to which it's tolerated in the company. How you define misconduct depends on two factors. The first one is your local legislation. You may, for example, operate in a country where discrimination based on ethnic origin is unacceptable by law. In the UK that would be the Equality Act. So you need to make sure that your policies reflect any inappropriate behavior that is supported by law. Other legislation that you need to consult are, for example, health and safety regulations. I've recently managed a case where an employee attacked their driver on their way home from the office. The person opened the door while driving and verbally abused the driver. This case was managed under the health and safety regulation and the person was considered to have put others at risk of physical harm. The second factor is your company values. These should be captured extensively in your code of conduct. Your values can include tangible inappropriate behaviors, such as stealing money or destroying company property. They can also include intangible inappropriate behaviors such as belittling and intimidating. These cases are usually more difficult to manage because they're less visible. You will probably have different values depending on which industry you work in. If you work in the sports industry, for example, then being shouted at by your coach may be an acceptable behavior because it's considered to be motivating. However, if you work in the health sector then shouting at your patients is probably unacceptable. And this should be captured in your company policies and the code of conduct. I invite you to take the time to review your policies and ensure that you have clearly articulated what inappropriate behavior looks like.