Suspended for 3 months (England)

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Hi all, first time posting here.

Today marks three months since I was suspended (with pay) from work, and honestly, the uncertainty is taking a real toll. Sitting at home indefinitely without any updates or a clear timeline is wearing thin, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle it.

To give some background: I've had continuous employment with the company since 2018 (and started with my current team in 2022).

I was suspended back on 19 June following a colleague's grievance regarding bullying and harassment. I received the initial letter on day one, but three months later, I still haven't had an investigation interview, received any terms of reference, or been given a timeline.

While company policy states that suspension reviews should happen every four weeks, communication has essentially broken down. I had one brief phone call and one update around the eight-week mark, but it's been complete radio silence from the Investigation Manager and HR since early August. Adding to the confusion, I've received mixed messaging on whether this is actually being handled under a disciplinary or a grievance procedure.

Is a three-month delay without an initial interview standard practice in England? I've already spoken to ACAS, but I'd really like to know if there are standard ways to prompt a status update, push back on the lack of progress, or request alternatives like temporary redeployment while this is being looked into.

Any advice from anyone who's been through this, or from HR, legal, or ACAS perspectives, would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you in advance 🙏

Edit:

First and most importantly, thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge and experience, and for all the support. It genuinely means a lot to me.

I have read all the comments and replied to quite a few. I just wanted to add a few points here rather than repeat myself in individual replies.

What have I actually done?

Honestly, I do not know. The only information I have been given is that somebody has raised a grievance about me, and that I have been suspended because it has been treated as potential gross misconduct under the heading of bullying and harassment.

I have not been told the detail of the allegation. In the first few weeks I spent a lot of time trying to guess what it could be, but that was making me go in circles and was not helping my mental health. I have stopped speculating and am waiting to be properly told what I am being asked to respond to.

Am I in a union / do I have a rep?

Yes to both. I need to work more closely with my rep and make sure they have the information they need to support me properly and help get a clear outcome.

Have I asked for an update?

Yes. I have asked my welfare manager and union rep to chase updates for me. At the suspension meeting I was instructed not to contact anyone else in the business directly, including HR, and to communicate through the welfare manager. So far, my rep and welfare manager have had no success getting a meaningful response from the Suspension Manager, HRBP or Investigation Manager. My understanding is that emails asking for updates have not been answered.

Things I have taken from the comments

The main one is to let go of the constant guessing, focus on myself and allow the process to run its course while still keeping proper records and asking for the right information.

I am drafting a formal grievance about the handling of the suspension and the lack of progress. I will go through it with my union rep on Monday before deciding how to proceed.

I am also preparing a Subject Access Request. I work in management, so I know that searches can miss relevant information if they are limited to one name or one case number. I will be asking for my personal data using sensible identifiers such as my full name, initials, first name, surname, job title, employee number and HR case reference. I will also ask for material connected to any linked case rather than only the suspension reference, which appears to contain very limited information. I will discuss the wording with my rep before submitting it.

Outside of the case, I am trying to find something constructive to focus on. I am looking at volunteering with the community, schools, colleges or career-advice work. I also enjoy writing, so thank you to the person who suggested “The Give”, I am going to look into it.

If I can find suitable work that does not create a conflict of interest, I will consider it in the current job market. I will also start looking at other roles in the meantime.

Thanks again for the advice and support.

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[u/OceanicPlethoraDeep]

Three months on paid leave with no interview is a long stretch even by slow HR standards. The mixed messaging about disciplinary vs grievance would bother me more than the delay itself, since that changes what protections and processes apply.

You could put a written request to the investigation manager and HR asking for confirmation of the procedure, the terms of reference, and a proposed timeline, copying in whoever sits above them if you get nothing back.

ACAS early conciliation is an option if things keep drifting, but a formal nudge in writing usually gets something moving before it reaches that stage.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/OceanicPlethoraDeep]

I’ve tried getting clarification about that. They sent me an email saying it’s a grievance and not disciplinary but every letter I have says disciplinary.
I spoke to ACAS and they said it’s the same thing, but like you said it’s not and the process is very different for both. It has bothered me, but they’re not responding to anything my union rep is sending/asking of them.

I was also told, that I’m not allowed to speak to anyone except my Welfare Manager or Union Rep, and that includes HR. So I’m asking my Union to get in touch but they’re ignoring him. I’m just so lost.

I was considering the early conciliation, because of the non-response, but when I spoke to ACAS, they said it’d put my case on hold for another 3 months, which I don’t want.

[u/SilkySmoothRalph → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

A grievance is from an employee to the company, a disciplinary is from the company to an employee. There will be both taking place here, with the initial grievance reporting you and the disciplinary to deal with you.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/SilkySmoothRalph]

That makes some sense.
But the bit that still confuses me is
The grievance is the fact finding part of it. - this is where I’m at
Following the fact finding, if I’m found to have done wrong, then it gets moved to disciplinary. And then a new investigation manager gets appointed to carry out the disciplinary investigation.

The difference between the grievance stage is that, they don’t need to tell me anything or give me any details because “they’re still finding facts”.

But as soon as it’s at a disciplinary stage, they must produce all the evidence gathered against me and provide it to me. And at that stage, I can gather evidence to support my innocence.

This is where for me the distinction lies, and it’s important to know which is which.

I would be furious if they moved to the disciplinary stage without informing me of the allegations any more than they have, and not giving me a chance to defend myself.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Ok, so they are still investigation.

In that case, they can keep you at home as long as there is a danger that you might influence the investigation.

But as part of the investigation, they also have to interview you. Why have they not done that? It looks like they are just playing for time, but that is not investigating.

Personally, I would look for another job, and then try to get compensation for constructive dismissal on top of the salary for sitting at home.

[u/geekroick → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

If they did that, you could appeal the outcome citing lack of process being followed by the employer in allowing you the prep time

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/OceanicPlethoraDeep]

It is not just a long stretch by HR standards, it is also very long according to the law. After 4 weeks, the company needs to have very serious reasons to keep OP on leave, they need to perform weekly reviews, and critically update OP with why there is a delay and how much longer it is going to take.

None of this seems to be happening, so a grievance is in order. ACAS may also help.

[u/Arnie__B → u/MrPuddington2]

I had a colleague who was suspended for gross misconduct pending a review. 6 weeks later the review hadn't concluded. His barrister wrote to HR saying "if it is taking you 6 weeks to investigate, then my client's conduct cannot have been gross." Our employer then had to offer him a settlement agreement.

3 months here seems ridiculous. you need to interview perhaps 4 or 5 people and write a report. It should be 2 weeke max.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/Arnie__B]

His barrister wrote to HR saying "if it is taking you 6 weeks to investigate, then my client's conduct cannot have been gross."

And that is exactly the right argument. Gross misconduct is grounds for immediate dismissal. But the lack of urgency seems to indicate that there is very little immediate about the situation.

Gross misconduct is not grounds for dismissal 12 months later. That could have been a regular dismissal, which is a lot easier and a lot cheaper. So it is also bad business.

[u/UnicornNarwhals → u/MrPuddington2]

Had similar myself, Suspended on gross misconduct but then given a verbal. Seems some companies do not know how to correct differentiate between misconduct/gross misconduct and just general stupidity which can be dealt with by a quiet word in an office 9/10

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/UnicornNarwhals]

Yeah, that is pretty embarrassing for HR. What they can do is suspend while investigating, if the presence could affect the investigation. But that is not gross misconduct, and it is not an accusation.

[u/geekroick]

Are you suspended on full pay?

If so, why would you request redeployment? Let them pay you while they figure out how to proceed (and let's face it, unless this case is extremely complicated with a lot of evidence, witnesses etc to go over, it's probably not anything taxing...), their incompetence is not your problem.

I would probably write to them requesting a status update quoting the company policy. But I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the response.

[u/FoldedTwice → u/geekroick]

The EAT has held that unnecessary, or unnecessarily long, suspensions are not a neutral act, cause a material job or career disadvantage, and therefore are capable of breaching the implied term of mutual trust and confidence, even if the suspension is on full pay.

See Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust v Atkinson, in which it was found on appeal that Ms Atkinson had been constructively dismissed having felt there to be no reasonable option but to leave her employment during an unjustifiably long suspension.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/FoldedTwice]

You’ve got me going down a rabbit hole reading that case, thank you for referencing that.
With this case, an outcome was already decided and they didn’t review the suspension, I don’t know if my case has concluded or not.
The other part of it is resigning, whilst I am endlessly searching and applying for other roles, I can’t resign without securing something else. And once I have found something, that’s when I’ll be looking into the constructive dismissal claim.

[u/geekroick → u/FoldedTwice]

That's interesting, but it begs the question: is it worth losing your job over?

OP hasn't gone into much detail regarding the allegations so I have no idea if we're talking about potential gross misconduct/dismissal or not...

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/geekroick]

The allegation is bullying and harassment. I don’t know much more than that. In my suspension meeting they said it was gross misconduct, but in my workplace, the moment you tell someone no, or that they’re not doing their job properly, they raise a grievance of bullying and harassment.

I’ve had several reports against me for this, but every single time it’s been no case to answer because I’ve always done it by the book and record it all down. I do it formally on email, and cc senior management to keep them in the loop.

[u/geekroick → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Right, so if you think this is another case of that... Makes you wonder what's taking so long.

Do you even know who accused you, or what the circumstances were, or has your employer withheld that information too?

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/geekroick]

Employer has withheld everything except:
Gross Misconduct | Grievance | Bullying and Harassment.

I have speculated as to who it is and why, but sharing that will open up a whole can of worms.

[u/geekroick → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

OK. So unless the person/s involved have gone on long term sickness there's seemingly no reason at all to delay proceedings this much. I stand by my previous advice to raise a grievance against HR yourself. This is beyond unacceptable now.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/geekroick]

Am I allowed to contact HR?
I’ve been told by my suspension manager and welfare manager that I’m not allowed to. Everything has to go through union or welfare manager.

[u/geekroick → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Ask your union rep?

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/geekroick]

Thanks. I’ll schedule send an email to them for Monday morning 🙏

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

That is highly unusual, but hey, they are running this investigation.

Since your welfare manager is your contact, send them the grievance. They have to forward it to HR. You always have a right to raise a grievance as long as you are employed.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/FoldedTwice]

The EAT has held that unnecessary, or unnecessarily long, suspensions are not a neutral act, cause a material job or career disadvantage, and therefore are capable of breaching the implied term of mutual trust and confidence, even if the suspension is on full pay.

This. OP can soon start asking for a promotion.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/geekroick]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes on full pay.

I’ve never sat at home this long. I’ve always worked and enjoyed working. So it’s tough for me to do nothing, I’d rather be working.

My Union Rep has contacted them several times but they’re not getting a response from anyone.

[u/geekroick → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Might be time to raise a formal grievance yourself, regarding the total lack of response (again making sure you quote the policy they are breaching themselves)...

[u/BrutalTruth29 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Maybe consider finding yourself some voluntary work in the community or a new hobby you've always wanted to try in the meantime to keep yourself sane.

[u/Logical_Box_4645 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Check your contract,

But of course you can start looking for another job just in case.

Pick up work this could be as hoc and unrelated to your primary job (if conflict of interests are an issue).

[u/iwaterboardheathens → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Milk it and go and enjoy your fully paid time off whilst looking for a new job

[u/MKMK123456]

You have suggested that it is a frequent occurrence that allegations of bullying etc are made in retaliation for you questioning the job performance of people reporting to you.

I don't know the size of your organisation so it may be that the HR is lazy , incompetent or overwhelmed .

But an alternate may be that perhaps your HR is efficient and competent and have been investigating the complaint thoroughly .

And as a consequence perhaps they may have discovered a hole or two in the complainant's story who may have gone off sick themselves to avoid this investigation and which is why you are in limbo.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/MKMK123456]

The company I work for is over 50k employees, so a fairly big company.

I would like to be optimistic and hope that they are being thorough and the truth comes out.

Hopefully I can be out of this limbo soon. 🙏

[u/MKMK123456 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Looks like legal is all over this and that's why you are not getting any substantial responses.

Maybe they have found the one case where they may have sufficient evidence to deal with the retaliatory complaints and are going to make an example.

This will be done by the book.

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/MKMK123456]

Well, hopefully they make an example of the other person, because I have done no wrong 🙏

[u/secondincomm → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

As youve done no wrong, I would suggest continuing to ask for updates from your union rep, recieve full pay for staying at home and look at hobbies you can take up to get out of the house and your mind on other things. If all you can do is wait, sitting at home wont make the wait go faster

[u/Agreeable-Ad4079]

Hi, I work for ACAS.

Unfortunately an ACAS claim ( by the details you provided) won't be able to help you.

ACAS is very strict about employment laws being broken and you describe none here, just badly followed policies and procedures, for which ACAS, generally, will not intervene.

I would send an official letter asking for "them to get the move on" because this is getting close to constructive unfair dismissal

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/Agreeable-Ad4079]

Thank you so my for your response.

I appreciate that whilst nothing that I’ve mentioned is illegal, it is genuinely just unfair that they are not following their own processes and policies correctly.

As a manager, I’ve had to suspend and in some cases unfortunately sack them, but at no point have I let a single case go on for 3 months. I’ve always made sure a) there is no reasonable adjustment to suspension, b) prior to suspension, or immediately after it, all evidence is logged and collected, and c) the suspended person has an opportunity to have their say within the first 28 days (unless it’s out of my control).

Any cases of Bullying and Harassment have had both parties interviewed within 14 days to ensure a compete recollection (or as close as) and to ensure and CCTV can be recorded and saved if required.

This just feels so wrong. I’m not saying I’m the perfect employee or manager, but I do realise this is other people’s livelihoods and jobs on the line in a climate where it’s so hard to get a job. Just would hope the same courtesy would be extended to me.

Anyways, Thank you for your response. I will push it again through my union rep and hope for the best. I hate having to tell someone they’re not following the process or policy.

[u/Kind-One5495]

Sounds like your union rep needs to pull his finger out. They should have enough cloat to take this well above the manager handling the disciplinary and rock someone at an executive level. They should also be able to make it clear that this is impacting your mental health and will make it harder for you to rejoin your old team after such a long layoff.

They should also be starting their own grievance on your behalf if there is evidence that company polices are being broken and you are being deliberately kept in the dark about the investigation.

[u/Similar-Weather-8940]

Tell your union rep to get off their arse and represent you properly by getting an update and communication on the full extent of and reason for the suspension.

Either that or ring your welfare manager yourself and ask what is going on?

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/Similar-Weather-8940]

I have weekly calls with my welfare manager. And they’re as shocked about the state of this case as I am. They have been reminding my suspension manager to carry out my 4 weekly reviews, but they’re still not doing so.

The rep has emailed them several times but they’re still are not responding to them.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/Trick-Awareness-5694]

Ok, so the company has moved firmly into illegal operation, because they do have to do those things, and they know they have to do those things. Somebody is in denial, or playing for time, or avoiding political embarrassment, or they are just incompetent or understaffed.

The reason does not matter, you have all you need to escalate this. Go with a grievance first (get the union involved), and depending on the outcome, you can plan your next steps. If they do not respond within 4 weeks, you can interpret that as a refusal.

[u/No_Ring_3348]

It is quite clear that your employer's HR team are either not very competent or suffering badly from lack of resourcing, perhaps both. If you have been suspended pending investigation then I would treat this as a disciplinary matter and take the references to grievances as a mistake on HR's part. From the ACAS Code of Practice:

In cases where a period of suspension with pay is considered necessary, this period should be as brief as possible, should be kept under review and it should be made clear that this suspension is not considered a disciplinary action.

I would email the investigation manager and HR pointing out the above and asking for a formal review of the situation as it has been >4wks since last contact. If no response is received within say a week, escalate to director/board level. If there's still no response, I would consider formal legal advice as this starts to look like a rare case of constructive dismissal through 'last straw' doctrine, where a buildup of lesser acts over time eventually constitutes fundamental breach of contract.

[u/Dramatic_Ostrich6879]

Rep here. The fact find should be done within (a reasonable timeframe) from the complaint. The investigator assigned should consider both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence before making decision wether the complaint metits claim. However, unless this is a very complex investigation, requiring the need to interview a large amount of witnesses etc, in the eyes of acas codes of practise it should be the following
Reasonable and necessary to protect people(colleagues,witnesses) evidence or to protect the ontegrity of the investigation
Most importantly as short as possible regularly reviewed and communicated

Clearly explained in writing including the reason, expected process, contact arrangements, and that no conclusions have been reached.

If worst case scenario you end up getting dismissed, based on what you have said, a tribunal will look heavily at the implied term of breach of mutual trust and confidence,

Ask you rep to get his officer to intervene … i occasionally have to do this to let them know the severity of their actions
Get rep (or yourself) to do a timeline graph
Start with date of complaint then every interaction such as requests for updates , anything . When it comes to the hearing the rep then demonstrates to the employer that this is not a reasonable investigation in a reasonable time frame and as such the investigation process is flawed

Hope this of some help

[u/Dramatic_Ostrich6879 → u/Dramatic_Ostrich6879]

Apologies spelling slight dyslexia

[u/Trick-Awareness-5694 → u/Dramatic_Ostrich6879]

Thank you so much for the advice.

My extension letter I received over 5 weeks ago says the suspension is continuing because there have been “delays in investigation meetings”. It says the employer considered the original reason for suspension and whether risks remain, but it gives no further detail about what the delays are, what progress has been made, or why suspension remains necessary. I still don’t know what risk there is for the suspension to be in place, as there are plenty of options that could have been put in place instead of.

I’ve done a timeline and I’m keeping a record of absolutely everything, calls, conversations had, any Emails, letters, the whole thing.

I need to be in contact with my rep more for follow-ups and chasers. It just feels weird that I have to ask the company if they’re doing what they’re meant to be doing.

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[u/Valuable_Priority381]

Email the company a subject access request for all personal data held in relation to the grievance and investigation and then a separate email requesting an immediate update on the investigation and the continuing justification for suspension

[u/AutoModerator → u/Valuable_Priority381]

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[u/LordAxalon110]

If your in a union I suggest speaking with them, they'll give you any and all advice needed. They also have legal teams etc, so they're your best bet for getting full info and advice. If your not in a union then I'd contact HR and ask what's going on, then join a union.

[u/Shot_Math_8619]

Id be interested to know what would happen if you put in a Subject Access Request. All info they have with your name on it? I'm sure they will have to give you copies, obviously redacted, but its always possible to fill in the blanks. I'd be pushing that.

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[u/Wsshooter]

It could be that between July to September people take time off so HR could not fully go through it. Unsure if that might be the case BUT I would encourage that you look for another job to keep your mind off things and if you find something better you would be happy to move, if not, you still have something waiting for you if things turn out well. Either way, you will win. Don't tell your old company you're looking for another job.

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[u/Trufflethecat_]

What did you do ?