Employee Suspension: Tell Them Why They are Suspended – Ask #HR Bartender
A few months ago, I shared with you a Reddit community called “AntiWork”. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s worth reading occasionally. The community isn’t opposed to work, as the name might suggest. It’s actually more about employees sharing the really questionable things that employers do. The reason I’m reminded of the Reddit AntiWork group is because of today’s reader question.
I am an over the road (OTR) truck driver. I live in Alabama and I’m in Kansas on a load for the company I work for. I need to know if the company can suspend me without pay for 7 days when I’m away from home with no lodging.
I really hope this person was able to get answers to their question. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of information we don’t know so it wouldn’t be fair to try to guess. We don’t know what the employment laws are in Alabama. We don’t know what state the company is based in and their state laws. Because this is trucking, are there any federal transportation laws that need to be considered? And we don’t know why this person might be suspended.
That’s where I want to go with today’s conversation. Organizations need to tell an employee why they are being suspended. Period. And if there’s some reason the employee needs to be suspended mid-trip, I’d like to think that HR has discussed the implications with legal counsel. Including the implications of leaving someone in another state without pay or lodging.
As an HR professional, I could think up a scenario where an employee needs to be relieved of duty in the middle of a trip. What I’m struggling with is just leaving the employee in another state with no way to get home. Which takes us back to the reader note. While we don’t have enough information to specifically address the question, if you’re an employee who has been suspended, here are a few articles that might help.
How to Handle an Employee Suspension – Employees cannot correct or improve their behavior if they don’t know what they did wrong. That’s the purpose of coaching and discipline – to correct an employee’s behavior.
This is What You Should Do if You Get a Suspension – While organizations should be providing employees with information during suspensions, I also believe that sometimes the employee is in shock about what’s going on and they forget to ask. If companies want to get to the truth, then they need to answer employee questions. It’s incredibly unprofessional to leave an employee in limbo.
How to Respond to Being Placed on Suspension – Employee suspensions are complicated situations. Many things need to be considered, including the employee figuring out their ultimate goal.
Employees’ When You Should Lawyer Up – No one wants to escalate issues to lawyers and government agencies, but unfortunately, sometimes it just has to be done.
I’ve always felt that even when you’re suspending or terminating someone, it should be done with respect. Even if the employee never demonstrated any respect to the company. Organizations should absolutely do the right thing. The organization – and its brand – will benefit in the long run.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of New Delhi, India
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