Suspension

[whatwillhappenif]

A well liked colleague at work has been suspended, and it has really upset us all as they were close friends and we feel it was unfair and just based on the fact his new manager does not like him.

The problem is that we have all been asked not to contact him in an official email from HR.

A few of us have been in contact outside work with him to offer moral support, and we have put a joint grievance in against the manager who suspended him.

My worry is that we may get in trouble for being in contact with him due to the email we initially received about not having contact as the grievance we submitted has been handed over to an external legal team.

Will we get in trouble for contact outside work with him, and what will happen to us if this is discovered which I'm worried it will be, as I stupidly sent a linkedin request to him which I later found out was linked to his work email which I'm guessing the new manager has access to. I havent asked the new manager if he has seen this for obvious reasons and he hasnt mentioned it to me, so I'm hoping he's missed it or it didn't go through to the work email after all.

That’ll give them a good laugh.

Errr managment and HR are supposed to team up - its not some grand conspiracy theory
And its nothing to do with you

Are you at primary school??

I disagree with most of the above. One of the absolutely nasty and cruel things about a suspension from work is the blanket ban on communication with friends at work. It’s as if management tried to think of the absolute worst thing they could do to someone and then went the extra mile.

I admire you all for your loyalty to your friend and colleague. So many people are total cowardly weasels in this sort of situation.

Stand together. They can’t sack all of you.

Even if the colleague is found to be guilty of whatever they are being accused of, what sort of friend cuts them off with so little compassion? And if they are found to be without blame, how could you look them in the eye on their return?

Something pretty serious must be happening behind the scenes for this to have happened. At my work a 'well liked colleague' is under a disciplinary.
She has told a few people her version of events and I promise it is so far from the truth of the situation.
All the people who think it is harsh and she is being 'picked on' would be bloody livid if they knew thew the truth of it - she has caused them so much work/hassle.
People can behave in very unexpected ways sometimes so even if you think you know them you probably don't.

I admire you all for your loyalty to your friend and colleague. So many people are total cowardly weasels in this sort of situation.

No, people use their common sense and won't put at risk their livelihood, that thing that keeps a roof over their heads.

Not a chance in hell I'd be involved in this.

It sounds like you're doing a lot to try and save this guy's skin. But has he really been suspended for literally no reason?
If it will risk your job, presuming you want to stay there, then stay out of it from a work perspective.
If you are his mate outside of work then by all means continue to socialise with him. But keep professional and personal separate.

I disagree with most of the above. One of the absolutely nasty and cruel things about a suspension from work is the blanket ban on communication with friends at work. It’s as if management tried to think of the absolute worst thing they could do to someone and then went the extra mile.

It’s to PROTECT the individual and any witnesses from compounding any potential offences. <sigh>

For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing

I imagine there’s more to it than you know.

But the problem is the OP has no.clue what he's been suspended for. It could be something really serious like SA or online child abuse. They have no idea the level of seriousness that's warranted the suspension.

It's not a case of good people doing nothing its a need to be armed with all the facts before getting overly involved.

OP, why on earth would the manager plus all of HR collectively lie to suspend someone? What's in it for them? But risky if they're all lying as they'll all presumably get sacked. Would every one of them risk their job to maliciously get one up on someone? Really?

This

Can work actually ban staff from making contact? If you don’t discuss work?

@whatwillhappenif How will you feel if there is a perfectly valid reason for suspension? Often people who are validly suspended for horrific reasons are the ones saying its a personal vendetta.

HR work for the company not the employees you do realise that?

I disagree with some of the others here. Yes in big companies with lots of strict policies it might be difficult to suspend someone… however, loads of smaller/‘looser’ companies will do as they please.

They can’t ask you not to be friends with him or see/speak to him. Again that’s not something an experienced/professional company would ever ask. They can tell him not to discuss the situation with you and perhaps vice versa whilst the process runs its course.

Sometimes, but too often this comes in the form of people interfering in investigations and assuming their friends or colleagues are wrongfully accused just because they’re likable or popular or have told a convincing tale of persecution.

OP’s just as likely to do harm by filing a grievance and offering solidarity rather than letting an investigation and due process take place.

No. But per OP they were explicitly in contact to discuss the suspension and work.

We’re all bound by the ACAS guidance, which is clear.

https://www.acas.org.uk/suspension-during-an-investigation

What are the grounds for your grievance?

How can you raise a grievance about a situation you know little to nothing about, you've all got carried away. It's common to be asked to have no contact with a colleague under these circumstances and to support him and not put him in a difficult position you should do what's asked of you. You may well make life more difficult for him and it will be noted about how you've all conducted yourselves,which doesn't sound very professional. Pull back from this for your sake snd your colleague. You can't ignore advice then be surprised when you face any consequences.

The suspension is between the employer and employee - not between other employees and employer.

In my view the employer has no right to tell other employees not to contact the employee outside their contracted hours.

Contact with the suspended employee ensures they are not isolated and aids their mental health.

I was suspended at work many years ago and my colleagues were told not to speak to me. One of them was a close friend and checked with HR what the situation was and was told that as long as no work issues were discussed it was fine
I do think you should keep out of it though, you don't actually know the full picture

Me too!

I think your way too involved in this. Stay out of it as much as possible, kisy let him know you will catch up once its over. You say the manager and HR teamed up to suspend him - any manager would need to work with HR to suspend someone! You haven't mentioned what he's meant to have done either. Lots of nice people can be really bad at their job, a suspension would normally indicate gross misconduct

I’ve done a lot of hearings in my time and it’s quite rare people are suspended. Only the most serious allegations lead to suspension. It’s human nature for people to play down their part or the reason for disciplinary.

The not speaking to a colleague at all is probably unenforceable but any evidence of you speaking about the case and you will likely find yourself in trouble.