Conduct outside work time

Q. A member has been called to a disciplinary meeting for getting involved in a fight at a department works party in January. The event was not organised by the company, but managers attended it and the restaurant was booked in the company's name. Our member has been charged with a criminal offence as a result of the fight. Can the company discipline a worker for something that happened outside work time?

A. In an issue related to conduct outside work, an employer's ability justifiably to discipline or dismiss someone depends on whether the act reflects in some way on the employer-employee relationship (see Thomson v Alloa). The usual test of reasonableness applies, and the kinds of factors taken into account are the nature of the offence, the nature of the employee's work, their status within the company and how much contact they have with other staff and customers.

A criminal conviction does not automatically amount to a sufficient reason to dismiss - it must affect the business in some way or undermine the confidence in the employee. Likewise, it does not follow that someone who is acquitted or not charged with a criminal offence cannot be dismissed.

Thomson v Alloa Motor Co [1983] IRLR 403