Five bad behaviours that are actually employee misconduct

By Metis HR

30 Mar 2015

Whilst employees helping themselves to a little stationery, or turning up a little late sometimes does not feel like a massive workplace concern, turning a blind eye could potentially mean an escalation into real HR trouble.

By Metis HR.

With appropriate workplace guidelines in place you the employer can take immediate legal recourse to combat them…

Here are five workplace behaviours that are actually employee misconduct:

1. Persistent Lateness

Employees that consistently come to work past the time they are expected to arrive can ultimately be dismissed for persistent lateness. Moreover, the employee’s tardiness could impact upon the work being done. For example, if the employee is expected to open up a retail outlet by a certain designated time or attend a mandatory morning meeting, chronic lateness can impair the day-to-day operations of the business as well as the performance of co-workers. The expectations must be clearly articulated in company guidelines, so there is no doubt as to what time employees are expected to arrive and what behaviour will likely be deemed employee misconduct.

2. Unwanted Gift Giving

It may seem counterintuitive, but giving gifts to another co-worker, subordinate or manager can be deemed employee misconduct. In particular, if the gifts are unwanted but the employee giving the gifts persists, the behaviour can be a form of harassment, possibly sexual harassment. For employers, it is imperative that managers and human resource professionals be particularly vigilant around certain holidays like Valentine’s Day or even around the time of the Christmas Party.

3. Taking Office Supplies Home

It’s hard to imagine that an employee that takes pens, pencils and post-it notes home from the office has done anything criminal. For a restaurant, it might be a bottle of wine or an expensive food item that goes missing. The reality is that taking office supplies or other items from the workplace is stealing and constitutes theft of company property. While pens, pencils, rulers and post-it notes are the most popular items to go missing, the list of objects taken by employees extends to laptops, phones and calculators.

You must set out your expectations consistently in both your policies and procedures but also in the way employees can expect you to react to discovering this behaviour. Consistency in responding to this kind of employee misconduct is key. It can never be ‘alright’ or acceptable for one employee to help themselves to stationery without it being addressed by the employer whilst another finds themselves in a formal disciplinary.

4. Personal Use of Company Wi-Fi

Companies should have internet usage policies in place and for the policy on personal use of the company Wi-Fi to be defined. Wireless internet depends upon bandwidth for speed and optimal performance, so using the business Wi-Fi for personal activities is often against company policy. To some, using company Wi-Fi for personal use is just the modern version of stealing company property but your expectations must be set out for employees so that they are clear on what they may or may not do, and when.

5. Unscheduled Employee Absence

Paid sick leave (whether statutory sick pay or occupational sick pay) is to be used for periods when employees are ill. Other company policies, such as an annual leave policy, enable employees to take and plan scheduled absences and still be paid. However, calling in sick without good reason or lying about being ill or time taken off work, is a form of employee misconduct. Employees that frequently miss work without notice or call in sick as a means to get a day off work have an unscheduled work absence pattern quite distinct from planned absences that fall within company policy. Look out for patterns of absence, for example ‘spikes’ around holidays and creating long weekends by taking Fridays or Mondays as sick leave.

These are just five types of employee misconduct to watch out for. With systematic documentation protocols in place, seemingly minor employee offences may start to present themselves as patterns of behaviour.

For employers, documentation of inappropriate employee behaviour is key. Those patterns will provide the evidence for an employer’s case should the behaviour be determined to be potentially misconduct. Without documentation procedures, a misconduct allegation will lack evidentiary clout and leave you floundering.

Enjoyed this? Read more from Metis HR

Latest news

1

Bellway to build 183 high quality new homes Royal Bowland Park street scene NEW.jpg.jpg

Bellway to build 183 high quality new homes

29 Oct 2025

2

University of Lancashire recognised for entrepreneurship and supporting business growth - Representatives from the University's Business School, local SMEs and the IOEE

University of Lancashire recognised for entrepreneurship and supporting business growth

29 Oct 2025

3

£8bn Typhoon order is great news for Lancashire BAE Typhoon ECRS Mk2 Radar

£8bn Typhoon order is great news for Lancashire

28 Oct 2025

4

Award-winning Lancashire wedding venue and hotel is sold The Mill at Conder Green

Award-winning Lancashire wedding venue and hotel is sold

28 Oct 2025

5

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm PM+M promotions

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm

27 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
November / December 2025 Magazine Launch Event
Holiday Inn Hotel
Networking
28 Oct 2025 - 18 Nov 2025

November / December 2025 Magazine Launch Event

Holiday Inn, Blackpool

16:46 - 16:45

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
06 Nov 2025 - 06 Nov 2025

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November

Porsche Centre South Lakes, Carnforth, LA6 1FW

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Roundtables
10 Nov 2025 - 10 Nov 2025

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner

Lancaster Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YN

14:00 - 16:00

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human
2.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity
1.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
13 Nov 2025 - 13 Nov 2025

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

The AI Lab: E-commerce
Ai Lab ecommerce (1).png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
14 Nov 2025 - 14 Nov 2025

The AI Lab: E-commerce

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin