Employment Topics Law – Suspension of Employees on Disciplinary or Medical Grounds

 

Suspension of an employee usually occurs for one of two specific reasons – potential disciplinary issues that require investigation and suspension on medical grounds. Whilst these two situations should be relatively straightforward, many organisations get into a muddle and make potentially dangerous errors.

 

This page is designed to provide an overview on how to deal with such situations.

 

If you need immediate assistance regarding such a matter and would like to speak to people who can actually help you now call 01543 308642 or email us at info@creamhr.com

 

As stated above there are generally only two situations which will require you to suspend an employee.

 

Disciplinary related suspension is the most common type of suspension that we face and before you consider suspending an employee you need to consider if this action is necessary, reasonable and appropriate.

 

If the allegation is serious and if you have reasonable grounds to suspect that your employee could interfere with or hamper a fair and thorough investigation or if their continued presence at work could place the business at risk, then suspension on full pay may be a proportionate action to consider.

 

In taking such action it is essential that you clearly communicate with your employee that the suspension in itself is not a disciplinary action and that any such action is being taken to allow the matters of concern to be properly investigated.

 

You should inform the employee that they are still employed by you, that they are still bound by your Company rules and that they should ensure that they are available to you during working hours and that you will need their cooperation in relation to the investigation.  

 

You do need to handle these situations very carefully and it is important to consider the potential effect such action (suspension) might have on your future relationship with your employee, especially if the investigation concludes that there is no case to answer – this can have further repercussions in your business regarding the person or persons who made any allegations.

Clear communication is vital and you should explain exactly why such action needs to be taken regarding the seriousness of any allegation, whilst stressing that they are innocent until proven otherwise.

 

It is very easy to make mistakes when suspending an employee to enable an investigation to be undertaken or to conclude – most commonly we come across situations where the employee feels that the disciplinary decision has already been made – we have heard of situations where people have been asked to clear their desks, when they were being suspended! Such action is not recommended as it could potentially suggest that the employee has already been dismissed.

 

Suspension on medical grounds could be similarly problematic, but normally isn’t as difficult. As an employer you would normally only consider suspending an employee on medical grounds if their health was at risk as a result of being at work.

 

For example if you were made aware that one of your employees had a deteriorating problem regarding their hearing and they worked in a noisy environment, it might be appropriate to consider suspending that employee to get expert medical opinion on whether they should be allowed to work in such conditions and/or what reasonable adjustments you might be able to make to enable them to continue in that role.

 

These situations are generally easier to manage, effective communication is most important (again) and whilst the reason for suspension is perhaps seen as well intentioned rather than suspension to allow investigation into potential disciplinary issues, you are still going to have to deal with the emotion of your employee.

 

A lot of people will react to such possible suspension with worry. This worry is based on the feeling that they may feel that their employment may be at risk as a result of their condition.

 

Whilst the outcome of the medical reports could place their employment at risk, their health is of greatest importance and helping your employees to realise that this is where your concern lies will enable you to achieve a reasonable outcome.

 

Suspension of employees is fraught with difficulty and if you have any questions regarding this, call us now on 01543 308642 or email us at info@creamhr.com and we’ll help to answer your specific question.

 

DISCLAIMER – should you decide to use any of the information provided on this site without our expert guidance, you do so at your own risk.  

Almost every employment/employee related situation is unique and as such it is always wise to seek specific expert advice before undertaking any action.