What should I know if I have to fire someone for misconduct reasons?

To justify any dismissal for serious misconduct, you need to satisfy yourself that:

• the employee's misconduct actually happened
• the employee has had an opportunity to respond to the allegations
• you've acted consistently, treating all employees the same. For example, if you give one employee a warning for drinking on the job but then fire a different employee for a similar offense, the second employee would be able to claim that you unjustifiably dismissed them
• that the offense is serious enough to warrant dismissal