Suspension

Suspension is when an employee is sent home from work, usually while still receiving full pay. Employers are entitled to suspend someone while they investigate gross misconduct or another serious disciplinary matter, and the right to do so is usually set out in the employee’s contract of employment or the staff handbook, if one exists.

While a suspension is not a disciplinary action by itself, it often leads into disciplinary proceedings once the investigation concludes. During the suspension period, the employee typically remains employed and bound by their usual obligations, like confidentiality, even though they are not attending work.

Employers generally try to keep suspensions as short as possible and communicate clearly with the employee about the reason, the expected timeline, and what happens next, since an unnecessarily long or unclear suspension can itself become a source of dispute.