Employers and employees should make sure they get support early when misconduct is alleged in the workplace, representatives of employers and unions say.
Otago and Southland Employers Association managing solicitor Diana Hudson said while some employers were good at seeking assistance early, others left it until the association could only offer an "ambulance at the bottom of the cliff".
They did not always realise if they did not undertake a procedurally fair investigation, their decision could be overturned.
Calling in the association at the point when the employee had lodged a personal grievance after being sacked was not desirable.
At that stage, the situation would usually proceed to mediation where, if procedures were faulty, employers were most likely to end up "paying to make them go away".
If cases proceeded further, to the Employment Relations Authority, they could also be costly in terms of stress on staff and the amount of time such hearings involved, she said.
Enlisting the help of the association early did not absolve an organisation from having to make decisions.
But it could help with ensuring the process of investigation was fair.
It could be difficult to get an investigation 100% right, Ms Hudson said.
The convener of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Otago, Glenda Alexander, said it was important workplaces had good processes for dealing with allegations of misconduct.
If situations were not dealt with fairly, it could result in a lack of trust in the workplace.
A lot of productive time could be lost by parties to disputes when poor procedures were used.
An affected worker needed to ensure they took a support person with them to any meetings on the matter.
In such emotional situations, the worker involved in the allegations was likely to hear only about half of what was being said.
The support person could help them understand what went on, and was also a witness if differences of opinion about what had happened in the meeting arose later.
This applied whether or not the worker considered they might be at fault.
In those instances where workers might have made mistakes, it was important to have someone "in your corner" who could draw attention to any mitigating factors.
