To be told why I’ve been suspended?

@mummaclaire not necessarily so. Whilst we would like to think all companies behave ethically not all do. I was once suspended without any details, and fired the following day, still without any details of what I'd allegedly done, and from my understanding the worst thing I had done was disagree with a colleague who was junior to me, but friends with the owner and suggest we set measurable KPIs. This apparently was good enough to fire someone over.
I hadn't been there 2 years so had absolutely no rights under unfair dismissal BUT I did have grounds under wrongful dismissal as they failed to follow any of their own contractual disciplinary or grievance procedures and I won when I brought a case against them as their claims were absolutely hideous and not based on any facts.

Lets not assume the OP is in the wrong here. Companies behave appalling more than we like to admit.

I have known people be suspended pending investigation but that’s usually where allegations of something that goes against a protected characteristic is being alleged or bullying.

It can be for anything. I've had to suspend a manager where the issue was their performance in role. Wouldn't have been fair to have them in the office while interviewing 20+ team members.

Ended up taking weeks to get around everyone due to shifts, so they got quite a nice bit of paid time off! 😅

As others have said, anyone can join a union. I am a director of a small company (and 5% owner). I am a member of Unite.

See which union would be best for you here https://www.tuc.org.uk/join-a-union

A couple of people have referenced my comment about someone taking a grievance out against me and me not being told why and me referencing it being vexatious. . I didn’t get suspended, but I have known people be suspended pending investigation but that’s usually where allegations of something that goes against a protected characteristic is being alleged or bullying.

it does seem odd though and counterintuitive to be accused of something and not told what. But playing devils advocate it’s better for the person making the accusation to feel safe.

I think the difference between me and the op was that the couple of people who knew me and the complainant were in agreement it was rubbish and couldn’t understand why I was upset as justice would prevail so I was just devastated as I’d just done my job and performance managed her after lots of people hadn’t and it was me that was getting punished.

As someone whose husband has recently been suspended for his behaviour at work, you know what you have done, even if you don’t care to admit it to yourself, like the woman we had to suspend, and sack for taking illegal substances at work!

they should have told you what type of behaviour it is, be prepared to get dismissed. You should get a hearing before that happens, however employers always get their own way regardless of what you say

Yes you can. I've been very glad of it.

The employer doesn't have to recognise a union unless at least 30% of the staff are members, so you won't have collective pay or stroke action. But if you're in a disciplinary, you are entitled to a rep to attend with. In my case, it meant an external person who was a full time union employee, and was excellent, really knew his stuff. I also used them when i was made redundant, which meant a whole load of stress was removed - for example, i didn't have to go and find an employment lawyer to check through the severance documents - they have them already there.

I've also attendee things like a woman in STEM day with them, and there's a library of information on employment law i can use.

Join a union. Hopefully, like insurance, you'll never need them, but they've been worth every penny I've paid in dues over the years when I did need them.

That's interesting. I wish I'd know before by current issues with management. Definitely something to keep in mind!

Unsure if by "they" you're referring to the OP or the company here...

OP surely knows that the complainant has an issue with them based on the info provided, and is already complaining that its vexatious.

If the company is aware of an issue and feels that the complain is purely vexatious, it is extremely unlikely that they would have suspended OP (without at the very least explaining that they know the complaint is unwarranted but have to follow a procedure, if that is indeed the case).

As @ThatCoralShark noted, it's also possible that OP is incorrect and that someone else has filed the complaint. I have dealt with an issue recently where a third party filed a complaint about an incident involving a particularly meek co-worker, who didn't want to rock the boat.

Ultimately, the question was whether the OP should have expected further info at this stage, and the answer is "It would be nice for you, but no".

Surely you can't just join a Union if your company doesn't have unions in it

You can join a union if you want to, they need to be recognised for collective bargaining (eg negotiating pay rises or changes in employment terms) but can act for you as an individual even if not the recognised union in the workplace. GMB, Unison and Unite have members across a range of occupations and won’t be recognised by some of their members employers. It’s always worth having the protection that comes with union membership.

Whilst you’re NBU wanting to know all the details, in reality you won’t get to find everything out even when the case is closed.

Highly unlikely they’d suspend someone for that.

there is no one in the history of employment who has had a complaint made who hasn’t said it was vexatious. Like there is no one guilty in jail

they are looking for collaborative evidence and don’t wish the op there whilst they do it as he or she could pressurise people, plus if the complaint is upheld they don’t wish the complainer to be forced to work with her or him during this.

the fact only one was suspended, indicates they are taking this seriously . Corroborating evidence doesn’t mean someone witnessed events. It can be they witnessed the distress after it, or have seen an attitude, things said in passing about the other person, from either one. General relations etc.

and the op could be wrong, it maybe not the person she thinks. That happens often, but someone else, who doesn’t like it or feels impacted.

the company has told the op the basis, it’s his or her behaviour. They just need to wait it out now, either this will go away and the complainant dealt with, or they will call the op in present the evidence and then allow her to respond.

Or @AConcernedCitizen it could be they know the complainant has an issue with them like @TorroFerney experienced and they're being vexatious.

If you've been suspended pending investigation, this (almost always) means they don't think it's fair to either you, the complainant or any witnesses (your colleagues) to be in the office environment while it takes place.

That could be for any number of reasons...the impact it would have on the office atmosphere, the alleged behaviour continuing, one party influencing witnesses/the other party, or any number of other things. It might just be their policy (although automatic suspension is gradually becoming frowned upon).

If after the initial investigation they believe have enough to move forward, you will be informed of the complaint and be given the chance to respond. You don't have a 'right' to know beforehand, although most places will give you an idea (performances related, complaint, behaviour etc.

You say you have already been provided this information (suspended due to your behaviour following a complaint from someone on your team), there's not much more you can expect at this stage.

"I know exactly who and where they’ve come from. it is a he said she said situation but obviously this is causing me a lot of distress."

Based on the above you already know exactly what the complain is and who it's from too, so again, I'm not sure what else you are expecting at this stage.

This 'he said, she said situation' is likely to have caused the other party some distress if they felt the need to make an official complaint about you - if so, taking you out of the equation while it's investigated seems reasonable.

This happened in my company—the person embezzled tens of thousands of pounds. They were told they were suspended while they were WFH, and had an appointment to meet with their boss/HR the following morning. In the meeting, the boss/HR told them about the allegations/why they were suspended.

A member of staff raised a grievance against me in order to frustrate the performance review. She initially went off sick which stopped it and then did it. I never saw what she said and wasn’t officially told I was just interviewed. My boss told me off the record well told me the themes and when I was questioned it was obvious what she’d said. It’s not nice, I found it really upsetting and was just expected to suck it up because a) I was senior and b) you know it won’t go anywhere.

Yes any one can join a union. GMB for example is a general union anyone can join. I have been in it for about 10 years now in all different jobs. My OH joined about two years ago. He is in banking m they have helped us both through unfair dismissal, bullying and discrimination. It's the best 15.00 a month I could spend.

The fact you say you know exactly who has complained and why, says something more here. And they need to keep the person anonymous to protect them at this stage. The allegations must be signficant if they’ve taken this route. Is it something like bullying or racism?

Surely you can't just join a Union if your company doesn't have unions in it? I worked for a v large corporation, office based, majority graduate entry level and above jobs. Not aware of any unions here.

Unfortunately, that’s not how this is going to go down. I’ve had to make a workplace grievance for bullying against myself. This person was not suspended during the process, we just couldn’t communicate with each other. She actually continued her behaviour during the process and was given a written warning which was on her employee file for 18 months. It wasn’t so serious that someone would have lost their job over, she was just a cow who couldn’t do her job and smeared others to make herself appear half competent.

To be suspended is very very serious. If the allegations are found to be true the OP is going to lose their job, not be invited back and given a chance to try and improve. They will be called to a meeting. The allegations explained and the evidence of which they are forming their decision on and they will be handed a box with their stuff in it and escorted out of the building.

They don’t have to tell you who made the allegations. Although it will be pretty clear once they meet with you to discuss.

Like others have said - don’t contact people you work with. Don’t respond if colleagues contact you. Only speak to the person who is officially conducting the investigations.

You also want to be very careful about what you post on social media where you could be identified- like Facebook etc.

Getting ACAS advice would be a very good shout.

your manager won't be able to tell you who made an allegation, but without telling you WHY you were suspended (eg what was alleged) then how can you avoid doing it again ... perhaps message them along the lines of "I understand a suspension is to allow for a full investigation, but I am absolutely sure I have not contravened any policies or workplace protocols. Please let me know the reasons for my suspension so I can understand what I am alleged to have done wrongly, and can improve if needed as I am keen that this never happens again"

Your employer should give you a clear reason for the suspension and explain what other options have been explored instead of suspension. If you are suspended because of allegations against you, you are entitled to know what the allegations are

This was taken from the unison.org website

So you do know what it’s about.

You should be interviewed as part of the investigation, so you will get the opportunity to put your side across.

If there is a broken/difficult working relationship behind this, you should join a union so you are better protected for future issues. Or find a new job.

Hi

I hope this gets resolved quickly for you.

If not...companies should now be extremely careful with suspensions. While they've historically been seen as a 'neutral' act during investigations, a number of tribunal cases are changing that and AVAS issued reviewed guidance in 2022. It emphasises the impact of suspension on the employee and employers now need to demonstrate careful consideration of each individual and whether there's genuine risks if they continue to work throughout an investigation. Automatic suspensions are a very very bad idea legally now. They should only happen if there is absolutely no other option.

It can now be breach of contract.

I'd give ACAS a call.

I'd also contact your employer by email for a written record, asking them not what the investigation relates to, but asking them to explain their decision that immediate suspension was the appropriate action. Hopefully they'll shoot themselves in the foot and you'll have evidence in case you need it.

Oh god, I can only imagine the anxiety of this. Hope it's all resolved quickly