Employee Suspension Letter

The Employee Suspension Letter is a letter sent by an employer to an employee notifying the employee that they have been suspended from work.

The employer is the party that retains the services of an employee as outlined in an Employment Contract. The employee is the person employed to render specific services to an employer.

According to the law, the general position is that an employer is entitled to terminate a contract of employment at anytime and without stating reasons for doing so, provided the appropriate notice is given to the employee. Also, the employer can place disciplinary measures against an employee in the event of misconduct. In other words, an employee can only be suspended if their conduct is unacceptable.

There are organization policies that outline unacceptable behaviours in the workplace, and some of these policies are the Code of Conduct Policy, Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy, and the Employee Handbook. These documents also specify the disciplinary measures that may be taken by an employer, such as warning, suspension, dismissal from employment.

Note that this document is different from a Letter of Termination because an employer would use this suspension letter when they want their employee to cease from work (either indefinitely or for a stipulated period), with or without pay but the employee will resume work after the suspension. However, termination letter is given when an employee is permanently laid off from work.

How to use this document

This document requires the following information:

• the names and addresses of the employer and employee,
• the reason(s) for the suspension,
• whether the suspension is for a specified period or indefinite, and
• the procedure/steps followed prior to the suspension.

After completing this document, the employer should sign at least this document and send one signed copy to the employee. The employer should keep the other copy for record purposes.

If the employer is a company or any other organization other than a company, an authorized representative (a person who is authorized to send letters of this nature, for example, the human resources officer, director, etc.) should sign the letter on behalf of the employer.

Note that the employer can send this document to the employee as a letter or by email.

Applicable laws

The following laws apply to this document:

• The Labour Act, 2004 which regulates employment in Nigeria;
• The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended);
• The Employee Compensation Act.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.