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Conduct issues

Conduct issues

Certain standards of conduct are expected within the education sector. 

These reflect the professionalism of the sector and the fact that schools are responsible for one of the most vulnerable groups within our society: children and young adults.

Occasionally, issues may arise that can be deemed as unprofessional behaviour or poor conduct.

As you are a member of the board and the CEO (or operational manager) of the school, you are expected to act with a certain standard and duty of care in managing employment issues with your staff.

Police or other agency involvement

If a police investigation is underway or another external agency is involved following the alleged conduct issue, contact us immediately for advice.

What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest is when your duties or responsibilities as a principal conflict with, or could be perceived to conflict with, some other interest you might have outside your role as principal and a board member.

You need to ensure you are acting impartially and objectively at all times and not allow a conflict of interest or personal feelings to cloud your thinking and judgement.

An example could be that you are a witness to the alleged misconduct.

In these situations, you are expected to declare your conflict and recuse yourself from the process (including any decision making).

This prevents potential challenges to the process or perceptions the process may have been “biased” or “pre-determined” in some way.

If you are unsure whether you have a conflict of interest and should recuse yourself, contact us for advice.

What documents guide you when dealing with conduct and discipline?

The Collective Agreements have provisions for dealing with complaints and conduct, which must always be followed.

And, just like there are objectives and codes you must follow, teachers have a code and standards they must adhere to, which are set out in their respective collective agreement.

(Links to both are in the reference section of this article).

Note: Some schools also have a Code of Conduct or a values/mission statement that can be useful reference points in maintaining the desired standards of behaviour.

By becoming familiar with the professional code and standards, the limitations placed on your teaching staff and others, and their employment terms and conditions, you will be a better partner in the employment relationship.

If an issue arises with any employee, we recommend contacting us early for advice and support.

What is the difference between misconduct and serious misconduct?

Misconduct is usually conduct that, while a breach of expected standards, would generally not be considered serious.

Some examples are: 

  • Swearing

  • One-off incidents of disobedience

  • Breach of procedures or policies

  • Misuse of property.

This is not an exclusive list of misconduct. Each case should be looked at individually.

Serious misconduct has the potential to result in an instant dismissal (or “summary dismissal”), sometimes without notice and has implications on a teacher’s practising certificate.  Dismissal of teachers must be reported to the Teaching Council.

The applicable collective agreement, code of conduct or policy can have definitions of serious misconduct. Examples of serious misconduct may include:

  • Assault

  • Theft

  • Fraud

  • Wilful and continued disobedience

  • Sexual harassment

  • Sexual misconduct.

Each case should be looked at carefully on the facts, and information gathered as part of the investigation into the allegations.

If an employee has engaged in behaviour that you consider could be (or is) serious misconduct, contact us as soon as possible for advice.

What considerations of good faith, natural justice, and procedural fairness do you need to make?

Employers and employees must act in good faith by following the principles of natural justice and the provisions of the relevant collective agreement when addressing conduct issues. 

When notifying your employee of the allegation(s), you should clearly identify the sections of the collective agreement or policies under which you work.

Generally, consistent with natural justice, your employee has the right to know what they are accused of and who is making the complaint.

Obtaining allegations or complaints in writing also helps determine the exact nature of the concern and distinguish a minor concern from a more serious complaint, as the complainant needs to articulate their concerns.

As such, complaints should be in writing. There is a very high threshold for accepting a verbal or anonymous complaint. There would have to be grave concerns based on evidence that there is an imminent risk of serious harm to the individual, should their identity be revealed to the subject of their complaint.

Please contact us if you believe these concerns may apply.

Natural justice also requires you to:

  • Put the specific allegation/s that you are considering to the employee (if there are multiple allegations, then each one needs to be specified), and

  • Provide them with all relevant documentation you have gathered (including a copy of the complaint or the details of who made it and how they raised the concern), and

  • Provide them with any other material relevant to the matter, and

  • Advise them of the potential consequences of the misconduct, and

  • Advise the employee of their right to a support person and/or representation and allow them time to obtain it.

You must consider the employee’s explanation with an open mind and consider any reasonable alternatives to disciplinary action.

In reaching a decision as to the appropriate outcome (if any), an important element is that the “punishment must fit the crime”; in other words, any outcome you decide must not be disproportionate to the nature of the conduct matter.

Consider the following matters:

  • The employee’s explanation and any mitigating circumstances put by the employee,

  • Whether any actions by the school have contributed to the situation, e.g., lack of training, lack of policy, unlawful or unreasonable instruction,

  • The employee’s length of service and employment record,

  • Alternatives to the disciplinary action being considered, and

  • The degree of responsibility in the position.

How do you address misconduct?

Consistent with the applicable Collective Agreement and employment legislation, matters of misconduct should be attempted to be resolved at the lowest level first.

Generally, this involves an informal meeting held with the employee’s line manager (or the person they report to) and a discussion focused on clarifying expectations, seeking explicit agreement from the employee to comply with set expectations, preventing further such conduct without the need to resort to formal disciplinary process, and issuing warnings.

Please use our template email for inviting an employee to a low-level discussionopen_in_new to accompany this informal stage. Before sending it to the employee, you must read the guidance attached to this template.

The outcome should be focused on preventing further such conduct without the need to resort to formal warnings. If, having considered these matters, you believe a formal disciplinary outcome (such as a warning) needs to be issued, please contact us for further advice.

If the steps above did not, or cannot, satisfactorily resolve the matter, you can move from the informal, low-level approach to a formal process. Please contact us to discuss such a move.

If the employee notifies you that they are bringing a union representative/or advocate to the meeting, please postpone the intended meeting, then contact us so we can arrange a regional adviser to support you. You can advise the employee and their representative that you will be happy to meet with them at a later date and time to be confirmed.

How do you address serious misconduct?

Your response will depend on the individual situation that has occurred.

If an employee has engaged in behaviour that you consider could be (or is) serious misconduct, contact us as soon as possible for advice.

Templates, resources, and references

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Links from us
Employment New Zealand
Complaints and Conduct (Collective Agreements)
Teacher code and standards (Collective Agreements)