Suspension - urgent, pls help

[Kopparbergkate]

A friend of mine has just called me in floods of tears. She's literally just been told she's suspended on full pay pending a hearing in relation to serious misconduct. She's been given some idea of what the allegations are and who they're coming from - a junior in the team who's been a pain in the arse and crap at her job.

Friend called me cus I used to be a lawyer but (as I told her!) I never practised employment law so I'm not going to be much help. She's not a member of a union but her professional body has a legal advice line she's going to call.

Anyone any ideas of where else she could get good legal advice on this? Do ACAS help employees in this sort of situation?

I should add that she and her family moved to a new town for this job so she doesn't know anybody in the area and she's a panicker at the best of times so really needs someone with expertise.

[curlygal]

How awful.

Am not an Emplyment Lawyer unfortunately (in many ways [grin} but would suggest that she tries the CAB and has a look online to find out her rights.

Does she have a copy of her contract of employment or a company handbooks as the policy should be stated somewhere.

Is it an allegation of bullying?

[detoxdiva]

Did she have an investigation as part of her suspension, or will she be invited back to attend one? She will be entitled to have a representative with her, so encourage her to find someone at work she can trust, or contact HR as some companies will have trained reps within the business. The investigation should be thorough and outline the allegations and give her the chance to respond before the person conducting the investigation makes the decsion as to whether to progress to a disciplinary hearing.

[smittenkitten]

she needs a copy of the disciplinary procedure. she should probably talk to someone in the HR team. she must have a vague idea of hte allegations - behaviour, financial irregularities etc.

she is probably best off speaking to someone in the HR team and understanding the process.

suspension is a ligitmate management tool to faciliate investigations. if the allegations are serious enough, then companies will suspend as a matter of course.

if it gets as far as disciplinary as she is adamant that she didn't do it, she can delay the disciplinary by bringing a grievance - complaining that the allegations are as a result of legitimate performance management