As per Labour Law Act, What is Suspension Inquiry??? How many days we can suspend any employee or worker without pay on basis of Doubt?
From India, Vadodara
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6From India, Vadodara
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Suspending the services of an employee/workman is a punishment imposed by management for disciplinary grounds, such as:
1. If the concerned employee engages in activities that are subversive of discipline and good behavior.
2. Commits a major/severe misconduct.
3. Causes damage to company property.
4. Shows willful insubordination.
5. Engages in shouting/manhandling of superior officers/co-workers/staff.
6. Engages in loitering or go-slow in work.
7. Intimidates others to go slow.
8. Attends work under the influence of alcohol, etc.
Depending upon the gravity of the misconduct, the decision to suspend their services shall be taken. Management can issue an advice memo, warning letter, Show Cause Notice (SCN), Charge sheet, or Charge sheet-cum-Suspension Order (depending on the severity of the misconduct) and conduct a domestic enquiry to investigate the charges against the delinquent employee. Based on the enquiry report, appropriate punishment may be awarded.
From India, Aizawl
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1. If the concerned employee engages in activities that are subversive of discipline and good behavior.
2. Commits a major/severe misconduct.
3. Causes damage to company property.
4. Shows willful insubordination.
5. Engages in shouting/manhandling of superior officers/co-workers/staff.
6. Engages in loitering or go-slow in work.
7. Intimidates others to go slow.
8. Attends work under the influence of alcohol, etc.
Depending upon the gravity of the misconduct, the decision to suspend their services shall be taken. Management can issue an advice memo, warning letter, Show Cause Notice (SCN), Charge sheet, or Charge sheet-cum-Suspension Order (depending on the severity of the misconduct) and conduct a domestic enquiry to investigate the charges against the delinquent employee. Based on the enquiry report, appropriate punishment may be awarded.
From India, Aizawl
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Dear Vinitthakkar25@Gmail.Com,
Your question is not clear. But I presume you wanted to know how to suspend an employee immediately based on a report of serious charges of misconduct alleged or reported against him. In which event, how to proceed and how long he can be placed under suspension pending an inquiry. On this premise, I would like to answer your query as below:
Suspension pending inquiry could be resorted to when an employee is reported to have committed a grave and serious misconduct like theft, assault of a co-employee, acts of provocation, and threatening, etc. Hence, the employee's presence inside the premises would be detrimental to the safety of others and industrial peace. There is a concern that the accused employee would tamper with the witnesses.
Please note that suspension pending inquiry is not a punishment.
Immediately upon suspension or within a day or two of his suspension, the suspended employee should be issued a detailed charge sheet cum show cause notice, seeking his explanation within 24/48/72 hours as to why suitable disciplinary action should not be taken against him for the alleged misconduct. On receipt of the enquiry or even in the employee's failure to submit an explanation in writing, an enquiry could be ordered to be conducted on a specified date, time, and place, and notified accordingly. Preferably, an outside enquiry officer should be appointed and notified in the enquiry notice.
The enquiry (suspension pending inquiry) should be conducted and concluded as far as possible within a reasonable time. If there are any guidelines on how long the inquiry would go on, the period of six months as observed by the Supreme Court is an answer. During the period where an employee is placed under suspension pending inquiry, he should be paid subsistence allowance at a specified percentage of basic salary as laid down in the certified standing orders of the company. Where certified standing orders are not available, payment should be made in accordance with the Model Standing Orders Act in conjunction with the Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act.
Once the charges of misconduct alleged against the employee are proven, and if he is adjudged guilty by the enquiry officer, you can award punishment in proportion to the act of misconduct proved. The kind of punishment should be well within the list of punishments as enumerated in the certified standing orders or model standing orders, as the case may be, after taking due note of the past record of service. In the event of you deciding to award him the punishment of summary dismissal, if a dispute is pending before any conciliation officer/labor court/tribunal, or any other legal forum, you should apply for post-fact approval. If the employee happens to be a protected workman, you need permission from the concerned authorities before dismissing him. For your query, this much information should be sufficient. If you require any more technical clarifications, please write in a crystal clear and cogent manner as to what exactly you need.
All the best,
Panchsen P. Senthilkumar
senprithvib6@gmail.com
9884009193
From India, Chennai
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Your question is not clear. But I presume you wanted to know how to suspend an employee immediately based on a report of serious charges of misconduct alleged or reported against him. In which event, how to proceed and how long he can be placed under suspension pending an inquiry. On this premise, I would like to answer your query as below:
Suspension pending inquiry could be resorted to when an employee is reported to have committed a grave and serious misconduct like theft, assault of a co-employee, acts of provocation, and threatening, etc. Hence, the employee's presence inside the premises would be detrimental to the safety of others and industrial peace. There is a concern that the accused employee would tamper with the witnesses.
Please note that suspension pending inquiry is not a punishment.
Immediately upon suspension or within a day or two of his suspension, the suspended employee should be issued a detailed charge sheet cum show cause notice, seeking his explanation within 24/48/72 hours as to why suitable disciplinary action should not be taken against him for the alleged misconduct. On receipt of the enquiry or even in the employee's failure to submit an explanation in writing, an enquiry could be ordered to be conducted on a specified date, time, and place, and notified accordingly. Preferably, an outside enquiry officer should be appointed and notified in the enquiry notice.
The enquiry (suspension pending inquiry) should be conducted and concluded as far as possible within a reasonable time. If there are any guidelines on how long the inquiry would go on, the period of six months as observed by the Supreme Court is an answer. During the period where an employee is placed under suspension pending inquiry, he should be paid subsistence allowance at a specified percentage of basic salary as laid down in the certified standing orders of the company. Where certified standing orders are not available, payment should be made in accordance with the Model Standing Orders Act in conjunction with the Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act.
Once the charges of misconduct alleged against the employee are proven, and if he is adjudged guilty by the enquiry officer, you can award punishment in proportion to the act of misconduct proved. The kind of punishment should be well within the list of punishments as enumerated in the certified standing orders or model standing orders, as the case may be, after taking due note of the past record of service. In the event of you deciding to award him the punishment of summary dismissal, if a dispute is pending before any conciliation officer/labor court/tribunal, or any other legal forum, you should apply for post-fact approval. If the employee happens to be a protected workman, you need permission from the concerned authorities before dismissing him. For your query, this much information should be sufficient. If you require any more technical clarifications, please write in a crystal clear and cogent manner as to what exactly you need.
All the best,
Panchsen P. Senthilkumar
senprithvib6@gmail.com
9884009193
From India, Chennai
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An employer can suspend any employee pending enquiry if his presence in the establishment during the enquiry is not desirable.
As per model standing orders or certified standing orders, the subsistence allowance to a suspended employee may be half of his salary for the first 90 days and two-thirds thereafter for up to 120 days. If the enquiry continues beyond that and the reasons for the delay are not attributable to the employee, the employee is entitled to 100% of his salary.
From India, Faridabad
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As per model standing orders or certified standing orders, the subsistence allowance to a suspended employee may be half of his salary for the first 90 days and two-thirds thereafter for up to 120 days. If the enquiry continues beyond that and the reasons for the delay are not attributable to the employee, the employee is entitled to 100% of his salary.
From India, Faridabad
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Thank you, Mr. Shobhit, for clarifying to readers that payment of subsistence allowance for the entire period of suspension pending inquiry is a legal liability of the employer/the disciplining authority as per laws. The period for such suspension pending inquiry is regulated in the certified standing orders or the codified services rules as may be applicable to the concerned employee. Any act contrary to the provisions is not only an unfair practice on the part of the employer but also constitutes a breach of laws. It should never be misused as a "tool" to teach employees a lesson or drag out the disciplinary/inquiry proceedings.
Kritarth Consulting Team, 29.7.2020
From India, Delhi
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Kritarth Consulting Team, 29.7.2020
From India, Delhi
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Suspension, in the realm of employment, means the debarment of an employee by the employer from attending to his work as usual. In other words, suspension is the state of the contract of employment being kept in suspended animation. It is of two types - one is punitive suspension and the other is interim suspension or suspension pending enquiry.
The power of an employer to suspend his employee is an inherent power with his power to employ and have disciplinary control over the acts of the employee within the zone of employment. Therefore, normally it cannot be questioned unless on the allegation of colorable exercise of power or as a measure of victimization.
Punitive suspension, as the very name indicates, is a punishment awarded consequent on a proven misconduct. The entire period of punitive suspension would be treated as "dies non" which means a day which cannot be treated as duty for any service purpose including service benefits. It would automatically imply, therefore, no wages shall be payable for the entire period of punitive suspension. Besides, the duration of punitive suspension should not exceed the number of days mentioned in the standing orders or service regulations concerned.
Interim Suspension OR Suspension Pending Enquiry is a procedural convenience adopted by the employer to keep off the delinquent employee from scuttling the disciplinary process possibly by tampering with the records or influencing the witnesses by his continued presence in the post. It can be ordered either on the contemplation of the charges or after framing charges depending on the gravity of the circumstances. Thus, suspension pending enquiry does not snap the tie of employer-employee relationship nor is it a punishment. Therefore, it is only an administrative order of the employer and as such no Court would normally interfere with the order of suspension unless it is passed mala fide and without even prima facie evidence on record connecting the employee with the misconduct in question. In this connection, the observation of the Bombay High Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay & Another Vs Laxman Saidoo Timmanapyati & Others [1991 (1) CLR 653] that suspension is not to be misunderstood as being a punitive measure and in order to avoid the obnoxious practice of unjustified suspension for indefinite periods, it would be a healthy practice to insist on the Suspending Authority passing a reasonable order in which the grounds of suspension are spelt out is worthy of consideration of every disciplinary authority. I think that the above proposition answers the second question of Vinitthakkar.
Another proposition of law is that though the employer can place his employee under suspension pending enquiry into his misconduct, such suspension has to be effected in accordance with the procedure, if any, laid by the rules governing the service conditions or in the standing orders applicable to the establishment. For instance, the ratio decidendi of Supreme Court in P.R. Naik Vs Union of India [AIR 1972 SC 554] is that when an enquiry is contemplated, suspension cannot be ordered unless the Rules provide to that effect and if the Rules provide for suspension only after an enquiry is initiated, suspension cannot be ordered before the commencement of the enquiry.
Prompt and timely payment of subsistence allowance to the suspended employee at the rates specified in the standing orders/service regulations or any law in force is another important requirement during suspension. The failure to do so would normally vitiate the entire disciplinary proceedings in judicial review later.
When any punishment other than dismissal from service is awarded to the delinquent employee at the end of the disciplinary proceedings, the period of suspension should be regularized accordingly by paying actual wages minus the subsistence allowance already paid. Otherwise, it would amount to double punishment for the same set of misconduct.
Sometimes, the circumstances may warrant revocation of interim suspension owing to its unnecessary prolongation or by an order of any court of law or by virtue of the employee's attaining the age of superannuation.
From India, Salem
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The power of an employer to suspend his employee is an inherent power with his power to employ and have disciplinary control over the acts of the employee within the zone of employment. Therefore, normally it cannot be questioned unless on the allegation of colorable exercise of power or as a measure of victimization.
Punitive suspension, as the very name indicates, is a punishment awarded consequent on a proven misconduct. The entire period of punitive suspension would be treated as "dies non" which means a day which cannot be treated as duty for any service purpose including service benefits. It would automatically imply, therefore, no wages shall be payable for the entire period of punitive suspension. Besides, the duration of punitive suspension should not exceed the number of days mentioned in the standing orders or service regulations concerned.
Interim Suspension OR Suspension Pending Enquiry is a procedural convenience adopted by the employer to keep off the delinquent employee from scuttling the disciplinary process possibly by tampering with the records or influencing the witnesses by his continued presence in the post. It can be ordered either on the contemplation of the charges or after framing charges depending on the gravity of the circumstances. Thus, suspension pending enquiry does not snap the tie of employer-employee relationship nor is it a punishment. Therefore, it is only an administrative order of the employer and as such no Court would normally interfere with the order of suspension unless it is passed mala fide and without even prima facie evidence on record connecting the employee with the misconduct in question. In this connection, the observation of the Bombay High Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay & Another Vs Laxman Saidoo Timmanapyati & Others [1991 (1) CLR 653] that suspension is not to be misunderstood as being a punitive measure and in order to avoid the obnoxious practice of unjustified suspension for indefinite periods, it would be a healthy practice to insist on the Suspending Authority passing a reasonable order in which the grounds of suspension are spelt out is worthy of consideration of every disciplinary authority. I think that the above proposition answers the second question of Vinitthakkar.
Another proposition of law is that though the employer can place his employee under suspension pending enquiry into his misconduct, such suspension has to be effected in accordance with the procedure, if any, laid by the rules governing the service conditions or in the standing orders applicable to the establishment. For instance, the ratio decidendi of Supreme Court in P.R. Naik Vs Union of India [AIR 1972 SC 554] is that when an enquiry is contemplated, suspension cannot be ordered unless the Rules provide to that effect and if the Rules provide for suspension only after an enquiry is initiated, suspension cannot be ordered before the commencement of the enquiry.
Prompt and timely payment of subsistence allowance to the suspended employee at the rates specified in the standing orders/service regulations or any law in force is another important requirement during suspension. The failure to do so would normally vitiate the entire disciplinary proceedings in judicial review later.
When any punishment other than dismissal from service is awarded to the delinquent employee at the end of the disciplinary proceedings, the period of suspension should be regularized accordingly by paying actual wages minus the subsistence allowance already paid. Otherwise, it would amount to double punishment for the same set of misconduct.
Sometimes, the circumstances may warrant revocation of interim suspension owing to its unnecessary prolongation or by an order of any court of law or by virtue of the employee's attaining the age of superannuation.
From India, Salem
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Good insights by Umakanthan Sir, as always. Thank you, Umakanthan Sir. I was not aware of, up until now, when any punishment other than dismissal from service is awarded to the delinquent employee at the end of the disciplinary proceedings, the period of suspension should be regularized accordingly by paying actual wages minus the subsistence allowance already paid. Otherwise, it would amount to double punishment for the same set of misconduct. Thank you once again.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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I would like to add to what our learned Umakanthan Sir has so painstakingly explained in detail. There is no outer limit for suspension pending inquiry. However, the payment of subsistence allowance is necessary for the entire period as per the applicable Standing Orders or rules. Generally, for the first three months, 50% of wages is to be paid as subsistence allowance. Beyond the initial three months, it may increase to 75% or decrease to 25% depending on whether the employee is responsible for delaying the inquiry. It is essential to check the applicable provisions and act accordingly.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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