Suspension from Work Law UK:

This page last updated 7.7.26.

These are the steps to take if you have been suspended from work:

Step 1 = ‘Object, protest and challenge’ your suspension from work, otherwise you affirm and acquiesce to the suspension from work. In the authority of Mr J Hargreaves v Governing Body of Manchester Grammar School UKEAT/0048/18/DA, the Employment Appeal Tribunal drew an ‘adverse inference’ that the claimant had not advised his employer (the respondent) that his suspension was “inappropriate”. Therefore, if you do not ‘object, protest and challenge’ your suspension from work, then you concede that your suspension was a reasonable action for your employer to take.

Step 2 = Raise a grievance letter to challenge the decision by your employer to suspend you from work. (We can assist you in writing your grievance letter if you have been suspended from work by your employer). There are many reasons to challenge a suspension from work, not least as the Court of Appeal has held that suspension from work is “not a neutral act”.

Step 3 = Ask for the evidence to support the allegations against you. For the avoidance of doubt, you have the right to see all the evidence against you as part of the disciplinary process. See our webpage on beating disciplinary hearings once you have finished reading this webpage.

Step 4 = Do not contact your workplace colleagues during your period of suspension from work. This could lead to further disciplinary action.

Steps 5 = Reach out to Amy & I to assist you at – myrightsuk@protonmail.com or call us 9-5 on 07775943414.

My wife Amy & I are employment consultants with 26 years combined experience helping people like you. Amy & I both took our employers to the Employment Tribunal, which is why we created this website to assist you in knowing your employee rights UK. Please visit our testimonials page.

I’ve been suspended from work pending investigation what are my rights UK?

Firstly, as stated above, suspension from work is not a ‘neutral act’. Therefore, if you have been suspended from work pending an investigation you need to raise a grievance letter.

Suspension from Work Case Law UK:

In the authority of Simone Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth [2017] EWHC 2019 (QB) at paragraph 24, the Justices made the following observation:

“Whilst views generally might reasonably differ as to whether suspension is a “neutral act”, the view of the courts is that it is not. “

In the authority of Mezey v South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust EWCA Civ 106 (08 February 2007) The Court of Appeal made the following observation at paragraph 12:

“Suspension changes the status quo from work to no work, and it inevitably casts a shadow over the employee’s competence. Of course this does not mean it cannot be done, but it is not a neutral act.”

The Courts in the UK have held that suspension from work is ‘not a neutral act’.

To this end, if you have been suspended from work, you need to raise a grievance letter to object, protest, and challenge your employer’s decision to suspend you from work.

If you do not object, protest, and challenge your suspension from work, then you ‘affirm and acquiesce’ to the suspension.

For example, let’s say you find out your partner is having an affair behind your back. If you do not object, protest, and challenge your partner’s infidelity, then you ‘affirm and acquiesce’ your partners affair.

The same principal applies in the employment relationship. If you feel your suspension from work is unfair and unreasonable, then you must object, protest, and challenge the suspension by raising a letter of grievance.

A free grievance letter example for suspension can be found on our other website. (We have two websites with differing content).

Has anyone returned to work after suspension?

The answer is yes. My wife Amy and I have assisted countless clients in returning to work after being suspended.

This is because straight after being suspended from work, the aggrieved persons reached out to us and sought our assistance and intervention. The key here is to strike first, so contact us – myrightsuk@protonmail.com

After making initial contact with us, Amy and I were then able to assist our clients in writing a grievance letter to their employer and levering the employer into either reducing the time of suspension or expediting the investigation.

Over the past decade, we have assisted hundreds of clients who have been suspended from work, in returning to work.

However, in our experience, once our clients were suspended from work, the majority of them did not want to return to work. In these particular circumstances, Amy & I were successful in assisting our clients in reaching a settlement agreement to bring the employment relationship to an end with a NDA so neither party could discuss the suspension or reasons for the suspension.

Suspension from work pending investigation:

Suspension from work pending an investigation is not a reasonable course of action for your employer to take. For the avoidance of doubt, suspension from work to undertake an investigation should not have been your employers ‘default position’.

Suspension from Work Case Law UK:

In the authority of Prospects for People with Learning Difficulties v Harris [2012] UKEAT 0612_11_2704, the Employment Appeal Tribunal made the following observation at paragraph 35:

“On the one hand, suspension ought never to be routine: it ought to be imposed only where it is necessary to do and after careful consideration; and it should be kept under review to ensure that it is not unnecessarily protracted: see the ACAS Code, para 8, and the Guide, para 4.15”

In the authority of Simone Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth [2017] EWHC 2019 the Court of Appeal held the following position at paragraph 27:

“It is well-established that suspension is not be considered a routine response to the need for an investigation.”

Thus, if you have been suspended from work pending an investigation, your employer’s ‘default position’ to suspend you is wrong at law.

Amy & I can assist you in writing a custom grievance letter to your employer to object to the suspension, and furthermore, to provide case law in your grievance letter to support your position that your employer suspending you from work was ‘wrong at law’.

Reach out to us at myrightsuk@protonmail.com or call us on 07775943414 during working hours (9-5) to arrange a consultation to discuss drafting a custom grievance letter for you. We charge £35 for an initial consultation and £50 an hour thereafter.

Suspension grievance letter:

Amy and I have two websites. We have drafted a generic grievance letter template which you can use to send to your employer to object, protest, and challenge your suspension from work.

However, writing a custom grievance letter is more beneficial.

How to respond to a suspension from work?

The mistake, which Amy & I see people who have been suspended from work make, is to go on the defensive. This is the wrong course of action. You have to be proactive and challenge your employer’s decision to suspend you by going on the offensive.

Don’t be a lapdog, be a Rottweiler!

Thus, if you do not object, challenge, and protest your employer’s decision to suspend you i.e., by raising a formal letter of grievance, the Employment Tribunal will use that against you, as no doubt will your employer’s solicitor too.

The Employment Tribunal will take a view that if you felt aggrieved by the way the employer treated you in suspending you from work, that on the balance of probabilities, you would have complained and have raised a grievance letter.

Rules for suspending an employee?

There are no rules for suspending an employee.

However, the Court of appeal has held that suspension from work is not a “neutral act”.

Therefore, you need to raise a grievance letter and ask your employer to explain to you how they say the decision to suspend you from work was a “neutral act” given the fact that in the case authorities of Simone Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth [2017] EWHC 2019 (QB) and Mezey v South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust [2010] EWCA Civ 293, the view of the courts is that suspension is not a ‘neutral act’.

In the authority of Gogay v Hertfordshire County Council [2000] EWCA Civ 228 (26 July 2000) the Court of Appeal held that the decision to suspend the employee was a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ on the part of the employer.

You can also argue in your grievance letter that your employer has acted in a calculated manner to seriously undermine the implied term of mutual trust and confidence by taking the decision to suspend you.

You can argue in your grievance letter that the decision to suspend you has ‘impinged’ upon the implied term of mutual trust and confidence. See Kaur v Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 978.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Courts have held that any breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence is repudiatory. See Morrow v Safeway Stores [2002] IRLR 9 & Woods v WM Car Services (Peterborough) Ltd [1981] ICR 666, 672A.

How long can you be suspended from work pending investigation?

Amy and I have had clients contact us and informed us that they have been suspended from work for over 12 months.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is incumbent upon the employer to keep the period of suspension to the absolute minimum.

The longer the period of suspension, the more the suspension stigmatises your reputation amongst your workplace colleagues. That will be your argument in your grievance letter.

Moreover, the longer the period of suspension, the more risk to your employer that you could claim constructive unfair dismissal due to a fundamental breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

Therefore, we suggest you contact the HR Department every week (via your personal email) whilst you are suspended from work, to establish with your employer:

At what specific stage the investigation is at?
To establish the progress with the investigation?
To establish how much longer the employer intends to keep you suspended from work?

By taking the above steps, in the event that matters do escalate to an Employment Tribunal, you can demonstrate to the Tribunal that you have been proactive in managing your suspension and challenging your suspension. This is likely to be viewed positively by the Courts.

Can my boss tell other employees about my suspension?

The answer is yes, your boss can tell other employees that you are suspended, but should not, without very good reason, outline the reason/s why you have been suspended, or run the risk of breaching the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

As such, if your boss has disclosed to your workplace colleagues the ‘reason why’ you have been suspended from work, you may want to consider raising a grievance for a breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

What are my rights after being suspended from work?

Your rights after being suspended from work is to be kept updated on the process of the investigation and to know an approximate date by which the employer will complete its investigation.

Can I be suspended from work without an investigation?

Yes, you can be suspended from work without an investigation.

However, in the event that matters escalate to the Employment Tribunal, it would be for your employer to demonstrate why you were suspended from work without first undertaking an investigation.

Therefore, if your employer suspends you without first undertaking an investigation, I would suggest you raise a grievance letter to object and say that the decision to suspend you was a ‘knee jerk reaction’.

Does suspension always lead to dismissal?

No, suspension from work does not always lead to dismissal especially if you have two or more year’s service with your employer.

The reason why suspension from work does not always lead to dismissal (especially if you have two or more year’s service with your employer) is because if your employer dismisses you, your employer would have to be able to demonstrate to an Employment Tribunal that the dismissal was within the ‘range of reasonable responses’. See British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell [1978] UKEAT 108_78_2007 (20 July 1978).

Suspension and Medical Condition/s:

If you have been suspended from work, and the suspension from work has exacerbated an existing medical condition, then you may want to consider contacting us to assist you in raising a grievance letter for disability discrimination.

In the authority of Crawford v Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust [2012] IRLR 402, the Court made the following observation at paragraph 71:

“It appears to be the almost automatic response of many employers to allegations of this kind [mistreatment of a vulnerable patient] to suspend the employees concerned, and to forbid them from contacting anyone, as soon as a complaint is made, and quite irrespective of the likelihood of the complaint being established… It [suspension] should not be a knee-jerk reaction, and it will be a breach of the duty of trust and confidence towards the employee if it is. I appreciate that suspension is often said to be in the employee’s best interests; but many employees would question that, and in my view they would often be right to do so. They will frequently feel belittled and demoralised by the total exclusion from work and the enforced removal from their work colleagues, many of whom will be friends. This can be psychologically very damaging. Even if they are subsequently cleared of the charges, the suspicions are likely to linger, not least I suspect because the suspension appears to add credence to them…”

Thus, if you suffer an impairment or disability, you could raise a grievance due to the suspension from work causing you “psychological damage” or amounting to “disability discrimination“.

Remember, you don’t have to be alone in going through your employment dispute with your employer. We took our own employers to the Employment Tribunal and know what you are going through. If you feel you need assistance writing your grievance letter Amy & I can write your grievance letter for you.

We only charge £35 for an initial telephone consultation up to one hour. During the initial consultation, we can talk through your employment situation, provide guidance, and support you from beginning to end.

Amy & I can assist you in avoiding the pitfalls that employees often make and help you understand the psychology behind the grievance process so that you get the upper hand. Remember, you only get one chance to get this right, so make sure you do just that!

Go on, don’t hesitate, pick up the phone and call us 07775943414 (9-5 UK) or email us at: myrightsuk@protonmail.com

Over the past 15 years Amy & I helped thousands of clients. Read our testimonials page.

Amy & I can write you a custom grievance letter for any of the following employment issues:

Reach out to us on 07775943414 (9-5 UK) or email us – myrightsuk@protonmail.com

We work 7 days a week because we know your employment problems don’t just end on a Friday afternoon!

Suspended from Work UK Law

Suspension from Work Law UK: