Home › Professional discipline › Suspended from work
Suspension means your employer has told you to stay away from work while it investigates something. It is not a finding that you have done anything wrong, it is not a dismissal, and it should not be treated as a punishment. But it is serious, it is stressful, and the decisions you make in the first week can shape everything that follows, especially if you are a registered professional.
We know that employment problems like this cause real financial and personal strain. This page explains where you stand.
Your rights during suspension
New Zealand employment law does not give employers a free hand to suspend. In broad terms:
- An employer generally needs a proper basis to suspend. Usually that means a suspension clause in your employment agreement, or your agreement to it. Even where a clause exists, the employer still has to act fairly and in good faith in using it.
- You should be consulted first. In most cases a fair process means the employer proposes suspension, explains why, and genuinely considers your response before deciding. A suspension imposed out of the blue, with no chance to comment, is open to challenge.
- Suspension is almost always on full pay. Suspension without pay is rare and needs clear justification and, ordinarily, a clear contractual basis.
- You are entitled to know what is being investigated. You should be told the allegations in enough detail to respond to them, and given a reasonable opportunity to do so before any conclusions are reached.
- You can have a representative or support person. A lawyer, a union representative, or both, at investigation meetings.
- The investigation should be reasonably prompt. An open-ended suspension that drifts on without progress can itself become an employment relationship problem.
If a suspension is imposed unfairly, or dragged out unreasonably, you may have a personal grievance. But for most people the immediate priority is not litigation, it is handling the investigation well.
If you are a registered professional, read this part twice
For nurses, doctors, teachers, social workers and other registered professionals, a workplace investigation is never just a workplace investigation. What happens at work can reach your regulator, in two ways.
First, your employer may be required to report you. These duties are set by statute and they are not optional. An employer must report a teacher’s dismissal to the Teaching Council whatever the reason for it, and must report a resignation if, in the previous 12 months, it had raised concerns about conduct or competence or signalled an investigation. In health, an employer must notify the regulator when a practitioner resigns or is dismissed for reasons relating to competence. A settlement agreement cannot switch these duties off: you cannot contract out of a statutory reporting obligation, and a quiet exit negotiated after concerns have been raised can itself trigger the report.
Second, what you say to your employer can end up in front of your professional body. Regulators can obtain material from employers, and in the teaching context the Complaints Assessment Committee can require an employer to hand over information. The statement you give to your employer’s investigator, the emails you send, the admissions you make to bring the employment problem to an end: all of it may be read later by the people who decide whether you keep your registration.
This changes the advice. An admission that might sensibly close out an employment issue can become the foundation of a disciplinary charge. A resignation that ends the employment stress can trigger the report that starts the regulatory process, and resigning does not end the regulator’s jurisdiction over you. Before you respond to anything, work out how many processes you are really in. It is usually more than one.
What to do this week
- Get the allegations in writing. You are entitled to know what is being investigated and why you have been suspended.
- Do not respond in detail before taking advice. A short holding reply is fine. A full account, written in shock and without advice, is the most common and most costly mistake, doubly so if you hold a professional registration.
- Check your employment agreement for a suspension clause and for what it says about pay.
- If you are a registered professional, notify your indemnity insurer or professional body’s advisory service before you respond to the employer, and get advice that covers both the employment and the regulatory track.
- Secure your documents. Your agreement, relevant emails, rosters, file notes, anything you may lose access to if your systems access is cut off.
- Keep it contained. Do not discuss the investigation with colleagues who may be witnesses, and stay off social media about it.
- Look after yourself. Suspensions run for weeks, sometimes months. Use your support people, and your doctor if you need one.
Frequently asked questions
Does suspension mean I am going to be dismissed?
No. Suspension is meant to be a neutral, protective step while facts are established. Many investigations end with no action or with something well short of dismissal. Handle the process well and keep it that way.
Do I have to be paid while suspended?
Almost always, yes. Unpaid suspension is exceptional and needs a clear basis. If you have been suspended without pay, take advice promptly.
Can I refuse to attend investigation meetings?
You are generally expected to cooperate with a reasonable process, but you are entitled to know the allegations first, to have a representative with you, and to reasonable time to prepare. Cooperating on fair terms is usually the right course; how you answer is where advice matters.
Can my employer tell my professional body?
Sometimes it must. Teachers and health practitioners are the clearest cases, where reporting duties are set by statute. Even where reporting is not mandatory, regulators can often obtain information from employers. Assume anything you say at work may travel.
Can I just resign?
You can, but for registered professionals resignation often does not solve the problem. It can trigger a mandatory report, it does not end your regulator’s jurisdiction, and it gives up the income and the process rights you currently have. Never resign mid-investigation without advice.
How long can a suspension last?
As long as is genuinely needed for a fair and reasonably prompt investigation, and no longer. If it is drifting, your lawyer can press for a timetable, and unreasonable delay can support a grievance.
Talk to us before you respond
Andy Bell is an employment lawyer at Lane Neave, based in Wellington and acting for employees and professionals across New Zealand. If you have been suspended, and particularly if you hold a professional registration, the first week matters. The first consultation is free, and confidential.
Back to professional discipline | Home
This page is general information, not legal advice. Take advice on your own situation before acting.