The law is quite clear on what you should do.
If the offender is on probation you may sack. Otherwise you must give a warning to the offender. Ensure it's a written warning.
If the behaviour is repeated you are in your rights to sack.
With up to 40 employees at any one time, it is something which I've had to deal with, several times. Usually after complaints from other employees. Sometimes the offence was repeated, sometimes not. They were racial harassment allegations each time. The employee, each time, was given the chance to present their side of the story- but did not dispute what I had presented- I try to find facts from as many people as possible first to ensure that it's not a spurious complaint. The one who ended up getting sacked was a very valuable employee and I was sorry to lose them- but my hands were tied, and that employee later told me I had acted appropriately.
The ugliest sacking was with somebody on their third ever shift. I was well within my rights to terminate them- halfway through a shift. They threatened me with legal actions, and cast all sorts of aspersions on my business, my age and my parentage. But I knew exactly what I could and couln't do, so the extremely disgruntled employee didn't have a leg to stand on. I found out later that this employee had a rape conviction, but was out pending appeal. Nice guy.
Hi Geoff
But why Geoff why?
Are we breeding such, selfish, cruel, ignorant yobbos that they think it is acceptable to steal, smoke drugs, cheat, lie, bully, sexually harass, watch porn , offend others etc etc etc at the workplace? Are we?
That is why it is so hard for us small businessmen/women that it is simply, not worth it. Not the money you make, the lifestyle you have, the freedom, it not worth the stress of having to suffer fools who have legal rights to be abose you and they system.
And the gov rules are : hey that is ok.
The worst case I every heard is a bunch of old unionised miners who bullied a younger non union colleague so much because he was not one of them: call him fag, etc and then masturbated in front of and in some reports
on him in the lift going into the mine. Company sacked them on the spot.
Went to WF full appeal court with support of the Union who argued to get them to get their job on Fair Work back as " a bit of fun gone to far" and drinking was well known at the mine.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/18/3040695.htm?site=newcastle
I am must be old fashioned but that is never right, in no way, in no circumstances.
Peter 14.7