Given that the purpose of suspension is to remove an employee from the workplace, usually to enable an instance of misconduct to be investigated, it would be unlikely for an employer to require a suspended employee to carry out work.

However, this will be fact specific and there may be certain occasions where the suspension letter will state that the employee may be required to carry out some duties, upon request.

Employers should ensure that they have a robust disciplinary policy in place which deals with periods of suspension. It is prudent for the policy to state that during periods of suspension, employees must remain available for work, as this will (a) enable the employer to ask the employee to carry out duties and (b) prevent the employee from treating suspension as a period of annual leave.

If an employer does require an employee to carry out some of their duties while suspended, it may be appropriate for the employee to carry out their duties from home, separate from other employees, or under supervision. It will also be important to ensure that any work asked to be undertaken does not breach the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence or give the impression that the outcome of any investigation has already been determined.