When should an employee be suspended pending investigation?

When should an employee be suspended pending investigation?

An employer may wish to consider suspending an employee under investigation for serious incidents of misconduct. This may be appropriate where there’s a potential threat to the business or other employees, such as if the employee has been accused of sexual harassment for example.

What does suspended pending investigation?

Suspension is when an employee is sent home from work, usually while receiving full pay. Employers are entitled to suspend an employee pending an investigation of gross misconduct or other serious disciplinary matter.

How long should an investigation at work take?

Some investigations might take longer depending on the case and how many people need to give information. For example, a simple case might only take a day to gather enough information, whereas a more complicated case could take several weeks.

How long can an employer suspend you without pay?

FOREVER. An employer has no legal duty to tell you that you are fired. It can suspend you indefinitely and leave you on suspension for years if it wishes.

Do you have to pay employees when they are stood down?

When an employee is stood down, the employer is not required to make payments to the employee for the stand down period unless the employee is covered by a contract, transitional instrument, or agreement that states the employer must pay the employee during the stand down.

What happens when an employee is suspended pending an investigation?

Your suspension does not mean that we have already decided that you have done or not done an action or behaviour that is misconduct or serious misconduct. We will not keep you suspended for longer than is necessary for us to carry out the investigation and decide on action to be taken, if appropriate. We can lift the suspension at any time.

What does stand down mean in employment law?

‘Stand down’ refers to a temporary work stoppage or lay off of an employee. In this context, stand down should not be confused with any disciplinary actions being taken by an employer; for example, the investigation of misconduct authorised under an employment contract.

Do you get paid when you stand down on a public holiday?

Full-time and part-time employees on stand down are entitled to be paid on a public holiday that falls on any day during the stand down period, provided the employee would normally have ordinary hours of work rostered on that day.