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If a workplace issue or complaint is incorrectly characterised at an early stage, it's "very difficult to erase that error", a lawyer says.

Defining an issue as misconduct early on has far-reaching impacts; it can "dictate the attitude and the emotion" of the ensuing process, often resulting in a "heavy-handed" approach, according to McCabes Lawyers principal, Melini Pillay.

Usually, misconduct involves an act or an omission that breaches a workplace standard, and there's a policy, procedure or other workplace direction dictating how employees are supposed to behave, she says in a new HR Daily Premium Q&A.

Performance issues can tip into misconduct – for example, if an employee doesn't adhere to reasonable and lawful directions – but in most cases a disciplinary path is not the best approach, even if that's what a manager is seeking...