QLD Unfair Suspension for False Allegation - Employee Rights?

[jeremyfts]

My wife has been suspended pending an investigation at work. She is a youth worker, as am I. We both work for the same organisation. My wife was accused of assaulting a female resident today (she waved a cloth in front of the young person face to get their attention). The manager has told her she cannot work any shift until an investigation is done. They even sent me home stating that it was a conflict of interest. When I asked my manager what I could do on shift to protect myself, I was told nothing. That I had no rights. We have now lost hundreds of dollars in pay and cannot pay our bills because we lost our penalty rates over the weekend.

What are my rights as a worker (employee rights?). The sent me home after coming to work for only 1 hour. Can they do this under employment law?

 

[Ivy]

Hi Jeremy,

Workplaces are allowed to suspend workers for the duration of an investigation into misconduct. However employees must be paid while they are suspended.

Additionally, suspensions cannot be used as a punishment.

So there are two potential breaches of employment law that I can see:
1. Your employer must be paying your wife (and yourself) while the investigation continues
2. Your suspension is more akin to a punishment which is prohibited under employment law.

You can call Fair Work Australia to see how to proceed with your employer. Contact us - Fair Work Ombudsman

 

[jeremyfts]

Thank you

I will call Fair work on Monday and discuss this with them. I understand we can be suspended but I am more worried about the loss of penalty rates effectively reducing our income by approximately 40%.