NHS Suspension From Work: Pay, Length and Your Rights

Being suspended, often with a short meeting or a phone call and a letter, is one of the most frightening things that can happen at work. You are suddenly out of your workplace, possibly cut off from colleagues and systems, and usually left wondering what is being said about you. The facts below are drawn from the ACAS Code, the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook and the regulators' own published guidance. Where something depends on your trust's own policy, we say so rather than guess.

What suspension is, and what it is not

In employment law terms, suspension during an investigation is a holding measure. The employer's reason is usually one of three: to protect patients, colleagues or the integrity of the investigation (for example stopping evidence or records being altered), to stop witnesses from feeling pressured, or because your continued presence is judged to make a fair investigation difficult. It is not meant to be an automatic response to an allegation.

If you are suspended, it is worth asking in writing whether alternatives were considered. A trust does not have to agree, but the reasoning tells you what the decision rests on and gives you something to respond to. If the process then moves to a hearing, our guide to the NHS disciplinary and misconduct process explains the stages that follow.

How long can suspension last?

There is no statutory maximum. What the ACAS Code of Practice (paragraphs 5 and 8) does say is that investigations should be carried out without unreasonable delay, and that a suspension with pay should be as brief as possible and kept under review. In practice, trust policies often add review points or target timescales for investigations, but these are local and vary, so we do not quote a number that might not apply to you. The Handbook's own sickness, redundancy and other provisions do not set a general limit for suspension either.

What you can do is keep a simple log. Dates are your best evidence if a suspension drifts:

The dates above are examples to show the layout. They are not typical timescales.

If a review date passes with no word, write to your named contact asking for the review to be held, the specific reasons suspension still applies, and an expected timetable for the investigation. Keep the tone factual and brief; your union can escalate if needed.

Pay while suspended

The ACAS Code refers to suspension with pay, and that is the basis NHS trusts generally work on. Going on to reduced or no pay before any finding has been made would cut against the principle that suspension is neutral. If you are told otherwise, ask for the contractual or policy basis in writing and contact your union immediately.

Some detail is genuinely local, so ask HR to confirm each of these in writing:

• • What counts as full pay: basic pay only, or an average of regular enhancements such as unsocial hours, on-call or overtime as well? Trusts handle this differently.
• • Annual leave: whether it continues to accrue (it normally does while you are on pay) and how it can be taken.
• • Pension: contributions continue from pay in the normal way if pay continues; any change to pay affects pensionable pay.
• • Pay progression: whether your increment date is protected. In Wales the Handbook's pay progression annex (Annex 23, paragraph 49) describes suspension on full pay as a neutral act and expects the pay step to be applied where you were meeting the standards at the point of suspension. Other nations and employers may have different local arrangements, so ask.
• • Second jobs and bank work: whether you can keep a job outside your trust. Check your letter and ask before doing any shifts.

If you want to see how any change in pay would affect your take-home, our NHS Pay Calculator shows the numbers for your band.

Your rights and the usual conditions

Your exact entitlements depend on your contract and your trust's policy, but these are the points that recur across NHS suspension letters and are worth knowing before you reply:

• • Information: the ACAS Code (paragraph 9) says that if the matter goes to a disciplinary meeting you should be sent, in writing, enough information about the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences, with copies of written evidence. It is reasonable to ask earlier on for a brief written outline of the concern that led to suspension.
• • Representation: you have a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a work colleague at a formal disciplinary or grievance hearing, and an investigation meeting is often covered by local policy too. Contact your union before you attend anything. Our guide to NHS staff representation explains who can formally represent you.
• • Not a sanction: you should not be treated as though a finding has been made. If colleagues are told things that suggest otherwise, raise it in writing.
• • Contact conditions: letters commonly ask you not to contact witnesses or discuss the case with colleagues and not to access trust systems. Read the wording carefully and ask who you can talk to for support. A breach can become a new allegation, so clarify before you act.
• • Confidentiality: the trust should keep the fact of suspension and the allegation on a need-to-know basis. If you think it has not, note dates and raise it.
• • Reasonable adjustments: if you have a disability or health condition, you can ask for adjustments to how meetings are held, their timing or the way information is provided. See our guide to reasonable adjustments at work.
• • Protection if you raised a concern: if you recently raised a safety or other concern, or a grievance, and then found yourself suspended, tell your union and keep a dated note of the sequence. Our guide to NHS whistleblowing rights explains the legal protection for protected disclosures.

What to ask for in writing

You can send these as a short email to the named HR or management contact. Copy your union rep before you send. Keep it factual and polite.

• • The reasons suspension is considered necessary, and whether alternatives (changed duties, supervision, a different site or shifts) were considered.
• • Confirmation that suspension is a neutral act and not a disciplinary sanction.
• • Confirmation of your pay: basic pay, any regular enhancements, pension, annual leave and pay progression.
• • The name and contact details of a person you can speak to about practical and welfare matters (separate from the investigator, where possible).
• • The date of the first review, how often reviews will happen, and how you will be told the outcome.
• • A broad expected timetable for the investigation, and when you are likely to be asked to a meeting.
• • The exact terms of any contact restrictions, including whether you may contact your union, occupational health or colleagues who are not witnesses.
• • Whether you can access your payslips, email for personal HR matters and pension information while away.
• • Whether a referral to a regulator (NMC, GMC, HCPC or similar) or the DBS has been made or is being considered. You are entitled to ask, even if the answer is limited.

Keeping contact and looking after yourself

Isolation is the hardest part for many people. A few practical points:

• Agree a named contact. Ideally someone in HR or management who is not the investigator, with an agreed way and frequency of checking in.
• Use your union. They can speak to the trust on your behalf and are usually allowed as a contact under suspension conditions.
• Ask about support. Employee assistance programmes, occupational health and wellbeing services are usually still open to you. Our guide to occupational health referrals explains how they work. Doctors and dentists can contact NHS Practitioner Health.
• Keep your own notes. Write down your account of events while it is fresh, for your representative only, and keep dated copies of everything you receive.
• Avoid social media commentary about the case, colleagues or the trust. It can create new problems.
• Look after your health. See your GP if sleep, appetite or mood are suffering. Being unwell is a good reason to ask for adjustments to meetings. See also our guide to work-related stress.

Other kinds of suspension that are not the same thing

• Health and safety suspension in pregnancy. The NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook (paragraph 15.34) says that where a pregnant or breastfeeding employee's duties pose a risk and no suitable alternative work is available, the employee should be suspended on full pay. This is not a disciplinary matter.
• Regulator interim orders. If a regulator such as the NMC imposes an interim conditions of practice or interim suspension order, it restricts your registration, not just your job at one trust. The NMC says such orders must be reviewed every six months. See our fitness to practise guide and the separate guide to NMC referral by an employer.
• Doctors and dentists. Medical and dental staff have their own national procedures for handling concerns and exclusion from work. We have not been able to verify their detail here, so ask the BMA, your defence organisation or the trust's medical director's office for the framework that applies to you.
• Garden leave. A different arrangement, usually during a notice period after resignation, and not a precaution during an investigation.

When suspension ends

Suspension ends when the investigation finds no case to answer, the matter is resolved informally, or a disciplinary outcome is reached. What happens next depends on which:

• No case to answer or no action. Ask for the outcome in writing, a return meeting with a named manager, and a phased return if you want one. If you feel your reputation was affected, ask what communication will be given to colleagues.
• A sanction short of dismissal. Ask for the written outcome, its duration and your right of appeal. See how to appeal an NHS dismissal for the appeal structure (the same principles apply to warnings).
• Dismissal. You should receive written confirmation. Your tribunal and ACAS clock runs from your last day of employment. See our guide to the NHS dismissal letter and the full guide to what happens after dismissal.

If suspension ran for a long time and you think it was handled unreasonably, a union adviser can tell you whether a grievance or a claim is worth considering. Prolonged, unexplained suspension can feed into arguments about trust and confidence, which is also relevant to unfair and constructive dismissal. That is a specialist judgement, not something a general guide can make for you.

Related guides

This page is general information about NHS suspension, drawn from the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook and published regulator guidance, correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. It is not legal, HR or employment advice and does not replace your own trust's policy, your union's advice or specific legal advice. FrontlinePay is an independent site and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, ACAS, any NHS trust, NHS England, a regulator or any trade union.