KEEP IT REAL: Failure to follow the company's values was 'unacceptable' and could result in disciplinary action.

Cotton On's demand that staff portray company values such as 'fun' or face possible disciplinary action would be unlikely to be enforceable in New Zealand, an employment lawyer says.

Failure to portray "fun, entrepreneurial, keeping it real, family, ethical, engaged" behaviour was unacceptable, the Australian clothing chain said.

It could result in counselling, warnings or instant dismissal, according to the four-page code which was leaked to Fairfax Australia newspaper The Age.

The code was issued by Cotton On's human resources department and appeared to be group-wide. However, spokeswoman Greer McCracken could not be contacted to confirm whether it applied to Cotton On's New Zealand staff.

Blair Scotland, a partner at Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, said Cotton On's policy was unlikely to be workable here.

It would be hard to sack someone for having a poor attitude in New Zealand as it was such a subjective thing, he said.

"Employers are required by law to be fair and reasonable. What you might think was the right attitude, I might not.

"We all have ups and downs in the course of a day, week, month and year, and trying to expect people to maintain a constant 'narrow' view of human traits is very difficult.

"You would have to be pretty belligerent or nasty for that to warrant dismissal in New Zealand and I expect the same is true in Australia," he said.

A store in Auckland declined to comment yesterday, cheerfully referring queries to its Geelong headquarters.

Cotton On's Australian spokeswoman invited The Age to visit and meet Cotton On's "fantastic team members" in an upbeat email, but would not confirm whether any staff had been disciplined for not being "fun" or failing to "keep it real".

While Cotton On's staff are expected to be fun, they may need to walk a fine line. The code of conduct also lists "engaging in horseplay" as a sackable offence.

Not all the document is buzz words. There's the usual HR fare about not coming to work "under the influence of alcohol or any drug".

"If a team member were to be found to behave in a manner or represent themselves in a way that was not honest, genuine, respectful and transparent (for example) then yes – we would consider those behaviours to be a misalignment with our value of Keeping it Real."

That would, she said, be addressed in the "appropriate manner". Failure to be "Fun", she said, related to being not respectful, or in good faith or spirit and unpleasant. "Obviously all situations are based on context and individual circumstances."

The code of conduct was not a performance management tool, she said, despite it explicitly linking failure to comply with it to disciplinary action.

Since being created in 1991, Cotton On has grown rapidly with more than 1300 stores and offices around the world. The company, which has 19,000 staff, claims to get nearly 100,000 visits to its careers website a month. That's a lot of people who may need to keep it real.

- With The Age