Employment Essentials: Top 5 Lessons From March 2019

1. Court of Appeal guidance on use of suspensions

In cases of alleged misconduct, an employer may wish to suspend the employee who is being investigated. This may be appropriate for example:

• where there is a potential threat to the business or other employees;
• where it is not possible to properly investigate the allegation if the employee remains at work;
• where relationships at work have broken down.

In 2017, the High Court in Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth warned that suspension is a serious step and thought should be given to whether it can be avoided. As the High Court put it, "suspension was not a neutral act". However, this month the Court of Appeal has held "whether or not suspension is described as a 'neutral act' is unlikely to assist in resolving what is the crucial question". The crucial question is whether there has been a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. That is a question of fact which requires consideration as to