Facing a disciplinary meeting can be stressful and intimidating. Knowing your rights before you walk in the door can make all the difference to the outcome.
Get advice before your meeting
A disciplinary meeting is a formal process your employer uses to address concerns about your conduct or performance. It may arise from allegations of misconduct, ongoing performance issues, or a breach of workplace policies.
In New Zealand, employers are required by law to follow a fair and reasonable process before taking any disciplinary action. This includes giving you adequate notice of the meeting, clearly outlining the allegations against you, and giving you a genuine opportunity to respond before any decision is made.
Failure by your employer to follow this process — even if the underlying allegation has merit — can give rise to a personal grievance claim.
You have the right to bring a support person to any disciplinary meeting. This can be a friend, family member, union representative, or legal adviser. Your employer cannot unreasonably refuse this request.
Talk to us todayWhether your meeting is tomorrow or weeks away, we can help you prepare and protect your position.
We review the allegations against you and advise on their strength and how best to respond.
We prepare you for what to expect, what to say, and crucially — what not to say — in the meeting.
We can attend the meeting with you as your support person or legal representative to ensure the process is fair.
We help you draft a clear, professional written response to any allegations before the meeting takes place.
If the outcome is a warning or dismissal, we advise you on your options and next steps including raising a grievance.
We can negotiate on your behalf to reach a resolution that avoids formal disciplinary action where possible.
Here's what a fair disciplinary process should look like — and where we step in to help.
Your employer must give you written notice of the allegations they intend to discuss, with enough time for you to prepare a response.
Contact us as soon as you receive notice. The earlier we can advise you, the better your position going into the meeting.
We help you formulate a clear, honest, and strategic response to the allegations before the meeting.
The meeting takes place with your support person present. Your employer must listen to your response with an open mind before making any decision.
Your employer considers your response and makes a decision. This may result in no action, a warning, or in serious cases, dismissal.
If you're unhappy with the outcome, you may have grounds to raise a personal grievance. We advise you on your options immediately after the decision.
While most employees have the right to a fair disciplinary process, there are some situations where the rules are different or more complex.
If you are within a valid 90 day trial period, your employer has more flexibility to dismiss you. However the trial period must have been correctly established in your agreement.
In cases of serious misconduct, your employer may be able to skip some steps of the normal process, including summary dismissal without notice in extreme cases.
If you are engaged as an independent contractor rather than an employee, the employment law protections around disciplinary processes do not apply in the same way.
If a warning or other outcome from the meeting leads to your eventual dismissal, the 90 day personal grievance timeframe begins from the date of that dismissal.
Some employment agreements include probationary periods. These are different from 90 day trial periods and do not remove your right to a fair process.
Every situation is different. Contact us for a free consultation and we will give you an honest assessment of your rights and options.
Don't walk in unprepared. Contact us today and we will help you understand your rights and put your best foot forward.