Suspended for 'advising colleagues not to take overtime on their day off'

[macmay]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to get some concise and clear advice for a dear friend, who has been suspended from work after being accused of advising staff ' not to sign up for overtime on a bank holiday' in a protest against poor salary.

Can I first state that although the company pays the minimum wage and are within the confines of the law, they make their employees work very long hours and there has been some upset over salary increases.

Staff chose 3 spokespeople to act on their behalf but as at yet, there's been no real progress in addressing these issues.

On the last bank holiday, which according to the terms and conditions of the company isn't classed as a compulsory working day, the staff decided to decline overtime and not work to show solidarity in their protest - about 40 of them in total.

Some of them still came in, but most didn't as they freely and fairly applied their right to decline overtime.

However, the three spokepeople have now been suspended with the reason being 'Suspended for advising staff not come into work'

Is this legal?

Surely the company could have doubled the overtime rate if they desperately needed people and not try to pin this on one person, who at no point coerced or forced people not to come into work.

I do believe this to be a form of bullying and intimidation by management, but await your wise counsel on this matter.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Mac

[ULA]

Suspension is normally used whilst an allegation of misconduct or some other potential disciplinary issue is being investigated but has not been established. Your friend should have had at the time or should soon receive written confirmation that they have been suspended which should include:
· the reasons for the suspension and how long it is expected to last
· their rights and obligations during the suspension. For example, they should be contactable during normal working hours
· a point of contact (such as a manager or HR) and their contact details during the suspension
· that the purpose of suspension is to investigate and is not an assumption of guilt
· remaining on full pay unless their contract of employment says otherwise in the event of a suspension.

This period of suspension should be kept as brief as possible and the employer should keep your friend regularly updated about the suspension, the ongoing reasons for it and how much longer it is going to last.

As part of the investigative nature of the suspension they could be asked to attend a meeting for which they should be given notice and time to prepare for the meeting.

Given what you have said and the reason for the suspension my view is that as part of any investigation staff should be spoken to on an individual basis and asked whether they felt that any of the three individuals who have been suspended coerced or forced them into declining to work overtime on the bank holiday

Unfortunately there is no legal requirement for an employer to pay a higher wage for working on a bank holiday.