ACAS guidance on handling staff suspensions

ACAS has published new guidance to advise employers on how to consider and handle staff suspensions at work, specifically during investigations. The guidance covers deciding whether to suspend someone, the process for suspending someone, supporting an employee's mental health during suspension and pay and holiday during suspension.

ACAS recommends that because of the risk of breaching the employment contract and the stress that can be caused, a suspension should only be used when it is a reasonable way of dealing with the situation (such as while an investigation is carried out and there is a need to protect evidence, witnesses, the business, other staff or the person being investigated) and there are no appropriate alternatives. Employers should consider each situation carefully before deciding whether to suspend someone.

Suggested alternatives to suspension include:

• Changing shifts, site or working from home.
• Working with different customers or away from customers.
• Stopping working with certain systems, tools or on specific tasks.

A suspension may also be appropriate in order to protect an employee's health and safety (such as in medical or pregnancy circumstances).

Employers should support a suspended worker by explaining the reason for the suspension, making it clear that it does not mean that it has been decided they have done anything wrong, maintaining pay and benefits, keeping the suspension as short as possible, keeping it confidential wherever possible, and staying in regular contact throughout. The employee should be informed of their suspension in person if possible. It is good practice to allow them to be accompanied at any suspension meeting and for the suspension to be confirmed in writing.