Misconduct outside work: case study 1

We provide a case study in which one employee is charged with, and another convicted of, a criminal offence for misconduct outside work. 

Their employer is concerned about the potential impact that the criminal conduct outside work could have on the employees' suitability for their roles. 

  • Topic of the week: Misconduct outside work case study 1 Employers that are faced with a situation in which an employee has been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence for misconduct outside work should carry out a full investigation and consider whether or not this will impact on the employee's suitability for his or her role. 

Also

Disciplinary action will, in some cases, be an appropriate response to misconduct committed outside work. The Disciplinary rules and procedures section of the HR & Compliance Centre employment law manual explains the law relating to disciplinary action, while the misconduct flowchart in HR & Compliance Centre's Liveflo module ensures that you follow the correct procedure in line with the "Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures". 

The HR & Compliance Centre policies and documents section includes a Policy on employees charged with, or convicted of, criminal offences, which can be used to set out how to manage employees charged with, or convicted of, criminal offences, when drafting a staff handbook or criminal charges/convictions policy. 

The HR & Compliance Centre FAQs section provides answers to questions on dealing with conduct outside work, for example: Is it permissible to dismiss an employee on the grounds of misconduct that occurred outside the workplace? and Can an employer dismiss an employee because he or she is in prison?

We report employment tribunal cases in which the tribunal had to consider whether or not the dismissal of an employee who had been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence due to his or her actions outside work, was fair.