General information regarding suspension

According to the CNESST (the "Commission"), the suspension is a temporary interruption of an employee's employment for a specific period of time without termination of his or her employment agreement or the employment relationship between the employee and the employer. The employee may then be deprived or not deprived of his or her salary or remuneration during the period of suspension. This is usually a disciplinary action by an employer and considered as a corrective action. The temporary suspension of an employee complies with the principle of progressive discipline advocated by the Commission, since it suggests that an employer may consider to dismiss an employee only if the employee's performance or conduct does not improve following the corrective actions that have been taken against the latter.

Generally, before suspending an employee, the employer would have already explained to the employee the situation or conduct alleged against him/her in order to bring to his or her attention that this is inadequate, inappropriate or objectionable, as well as have given a written or verbal warning. However, it may happen that, in an extreme case where the alleged conduct of the employee is serious, the employer is not obliged to first address the issue with the employee or give ther latter a warning before imposing a suspension.