The Court of Appeal has sounded a warning note to employers who suspend employees pending investigation into conduct matters as a matter of course. It also criticised the NHS for referring an employee to the police.
In Crawford v Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, the NHS referred a matter of alleged gross misconduct that arose out of the care given to a patient, to the police. Describing this as "little short of astonishing", Lord Justice Elias noted:
- Hospitals in this situation, although they must be seen to act transparently, owe duties to long-serving staff;
- Being under the cloud of possible criminal proceedings is a very heavy burden;
- Employers should not subject employees to that burden without the most careful consideration and a genuine and reasonable belief that the case, if established, might justify the epithet "criminal" being applied to the conduct.
Lord Justice Elias also doubted whether suspension had been appropriate in this case, and observed that suspension should not be a knee-jerk reaction; stating that "if it is, it will be a breach of the duty of trust and confidence. Suspended employees will frequently feel belittled and demoralised". This judgment therefore reinforces the point that the decision to suspend an employee must be taken very carefully and should only happen when it is necessary in order to protect either the employer’s business, its clients or customers or other employees or workers.
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