How should an employer handle reports that one or more of its employees has been involved in a workplace brawl?

As always, the starting point is to investigate the allegation and find out what happened. If the investigation indicates that an employee may have been fighting at work, then it will be appropriate to hold a disciplinary hearing at which the employee is given a chance to explain their conduct. If more than one employee was involved in the fight, then the employer should hear from all of these employees, as well as any witnesses, before deciding on the sanction.

Source: Pavel Ševela / Wikimedia Commons

It is usually reasonable to dismiss an employee for fighting in the workplace, provided a fair and reasonable process has been followed. However, there may be mitigating factors that mean dismissal is not the appropriate sanction. An employee with long service and a previously clean disciplinary record may escape dismissal.

Where the brawl takes place away from the employer’s premises, it may still be reasonable to discipline the employees involved if the fight can be said to have occurred in the course of employment. This may be the case even if the fight occurs after working hours. A typical setting for such misdemeanour is an office party taking place in a pub. Employees at such events frequently consume too much alcohol and it is easy for heated arguments to turn violent. If it can be shown that there is a link between the employment relationship and the off-duty conduct, then the employer can conclude that the incident took place in the course of employment, despite having occurred away from the employer’s premises.