Being an HR or a manager, have you ever faced an Employee who is suspected of any kind of wrongdoing at the workplace?

How do you handle the situation? What disciplinary actions do you take?

Sometimes when misconduct is a huge issue, giving an official warning is not enough. You need to take an action – might be Suspension or termination, which actually depends on the situation.

Since we have already talked about termination and termination letters in our previous blog, this blog will brief you on everything about suspension due to disciplinary action. Also, we will help you with disciplinary suspension letter templates and examples to save you time.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!!

What is the Suspension of an Employee?

Suspension of an employee means keeping an employee away from the workplace temporarily for the reasons of discipline. However, the suspension nowhere means the end of employment. The suspension of an employee will be based on the grounds of misconduct, causing harm to the company’s property, or violation of the company’s rules.

During the suspension period, the employee cannot continue to perform his/her duties till the claim is resolved.

People often confuse suspension and dismissal as the same, but the former is temporary and the latter is the permanent decision either by the rule of the employer or by the law. Suspension can be of two types – suspension with pay and suspension without pay.

What Should a Disciplinary Suspension without Pay Letter Include?

If you are going to write this type of letter, then you must include the following components in your disciplinary suspension letter:

• Date when the letter is being written.
• The complete name of the employee who is being suspended.
• Address of the employee.
• The number of days for which the employee will remain suspended.
• The general statement that the employee will be suspended with/without pay.
• The effective date of the suspension.
• The reason for suspension.
• Your Name.
• Your designation.
• Signature.

If your investigation is pending and you still want to suspend the employee, you will have to mention that in the disciplinary suspension letter without pay.

Conditions of Suspending an Employee

The employee suspension can be performed under the following conditions:

Suspension Pending Domestic Enquiry

If an employee has done any kind of misconduct inside the office premises, then the employee may be suspended immediately under pending investigations. This is called suspension under pending inquiry. The charge sheet will be issued concurrently with the suspension order, and it must be received within seven days of the suspension order’s issuance.

Suspension Pending Court’s Order

The responsible authority is required to suspend an employee under suspension pending a court’s order if the employee has been charged with any criminal offense in a court of law.

Suspension as Punishment

If it is decided to suspend an employee for the wrongdoing they committed, the responsible authority may do so when the investigation is finished, even though the person is not suspended while the investigation is still ongoing. In these situations, the suspended employee won’t be able to get paid while they’re off work.

Reasons for Suspending an Employee

You cannot just suspend an employee for any small reason. There are certain cases where it is inappropriate to suspend an employee while the investigation is still going on. This is especially true if the allegations are serious. Look at some of the examples below:

• If the actions of the suspended employee threaten the company or the employees.
• If it is not possible to investigate the allegations against the employee if he stays at work.

Reasons not to Suspend an Employee

If you suspend an employee without following a proper procedure, then there are going to be serious consequences on your end. Therefore, avoid suspending an employee:

• If the employer has failed to consider all the other options besides suspension.
• If the reason for the suspension is just personal grudges or for vindictive reasons.

Disciplinary Suspension without Pay Letter Format

Disciplinary Suspension without Pay Letter Example

How Should Employers Deal with the Suspension

Employers should tread carefully when they are taking the decision to suspend an employee, especially if the employee being suspended is a professional person, for eg, a teacher. If you are an employer, you should deal with the suspension in a proper procedure.

• Let the employee respond – Put all the allegations in front of the employee before you take the decision to suspend an employee. Not letting an employee explain his/her wrongdoings will amount your breach of trust and confidence, giving reasons for a constructive dismissal claim.
• Consider alternatives – Always investigate other options before suspending an employee, such as moving them to a different department, letting them work from home, altering their schedule, or placing them under monitoring.
• Keep it short – If the company decides to suspend the worker, it should only be for a brief period of time.
• Document and Review – Employers should keep a record of their decision to suspend an employee so they can review it later. They can do this by sending the employee a disciplinary suspension letter, which forbids them from working while a disciplinary investigation is being conducted.

Suspension should also be kept under review. The employee privacy notice, which describes how you collect, use, store, and disclose personal information, and your data protection policy must both be followed when processing any personal information obtained during the suspension process.

Conclusion

If you want to learn how to write disciplinary suspension letters, this blog is the perfect place to refer to. Also, if you do not want to write the letter from scratch, UBS HR Toolkit offers you a free ready-made, easy-to-use suspension letter.

You can also get access to other important onboarding, offboarding, employment HR letters, HR emails, Hr forms, and other documents for free on UBS HRMS Software’s HR Toolkit. Get in touch to know more.