A term often heard in the context of applying discipline in the
workplace is the word "consistency" or its opposite,
"inconsistency."
The term "consistency" should be seen as
"treating like with like" or "measuring all by the
same standard". In other words, it would be unfair to treat
people who have committed similar acts of misconduct differently.
The primary reason for requiring Employers to act consistently when
instituting disciplinary action or administering disciplinary
sanctions is to ensure they do not act arbitrarily.
"Consistency" does not necessarily mean that the same
sanction must be applied in every instance of the same act of
misconduct. It means that the same procedure must be applied in
addressing similar instances of the same act of misconduct. This is
because the sanction to be applied is decided according to the
specific circumstances of the matter and the Employee's
personal circumstances. This includes service records, previous
disciplinary
