How to Manage Employees on Probation or Suspension

Author: Wayne D. Garris

Suspension and probation are useful tools to discipline employees for poor work performance or unsatisfactory behavior. Additionally, suspensions may also be used as a nondisciplinary tool when it is in the best interest of the employer to keep an employee away during an investigation.

Suspension and probations, however, can have a profound effect on the working conditions of the suspended employee, other employees and the employer. Issues such as confidentiality, the nature of the employer-employee relationship and how to manage an agitated employee who has recently completed a suspension or probation all arise in the context of suspension or probation.

This guide provides employers with assistance on how to manage this process before, during and after a suspension. Many of the issues involved, such as pay and the length of suspension, may be regulated by state law, so employers may choose to check with an attorney before implementing a suspension or probation policy.