One of the five potentially fair reasons for dismissal under section 98 of the ERA 1996 which the employer must establish to show that an employee was not unfairly dismissed.

To ensure that such a dismissal is fair, an employer must demonstrate it acted reasonably in relying on misconduct as the reason for dismissal and followed a fair procedure to establish whether the employee was guilty of misconduct.

For more information on dismissing an employee on the ground of misconduct, see Practice note, Unfair dismissal: overview: Potentially fair reasons for dismissal.