Suspension (punishment)

Suspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.

Workplace
Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of company policy. Work suspensions occur when a business manager or supervisor deems an action of an employee, whether intentional or unintentional, to be a violation of policy that should result in a course of punishment, and when the employee's absence during the suspension period does not hurt the company. This form of action hurts the employee because s/he will have no hours of work for the period s/he is suspended for and therefore will not get paid, unless the suspension is with pay, or is challenged and subsequently overturned. Some jobs, which pay on salary, may have paid suspensions, in which the affected worker will be barred from coming to work but will still receive pay. Generally, suspensions are deemed most effective if the affected worker remains unpaid. Suspensions are usually given after other means of counseling statements have been exhausted, but some violations may result in immediate suspension. Suspensions are tracked, and any number of them, even one may prevent one from receiving raises, bonuses or promotions, or could cause dismissal from the company.

Suspension clauses are common components of collective bargaining agreements. Suspensions may be challenged by employees in unionised organisations through the filing of a grievance.

Suspension on full pay can also be used when an employee needs to be removed from the workplace to avoid prejudicing an investigation. This is used not as a punishment, but in the employer's best interest. For example, a police officer who shoots a person while on duty will be given a suspension with pay during the investigation not to punish but to enable the department to carry out its investigation. Most officers involved in such shootings end up receiving no punishment.

Sport
Suspension is a punishment in sport, where players are banned from playing a certain number of future games. These suspensions may be issued for severe infractions of the rules of play (such as personal fouls), excessive technical, or flagrant fouls for the duration of a season, fights during the course of the game in which the player was a part of the wrongdoing, or misconduct off the field (such as illegal or banned substance use).

Generally, an athlete who is suspended must forfeit his pay during the course of the suspension, and depending on the team's or league's rules, may not be permitted to don his uniform or be present with the team during the course of play.

Academia
In academia, suspension is mandatory leave assigned to a student as a form of punishment that can last anywhere from one day to several weeks, during which time the student cannot attend regular school lessons. The student's parents or guardians are usually notified as to the reason for and the duration of the suspension. Sometimes students have to complete work during their suspensions for which they receive no credit. Also, upon returning to school, it is often mandatory that the student, his/her parents/guardians, and a school administrator have a meeting to discuss and evaluate the matter. In some schools this meeting is prior to the suspension

Applications to some colleges ask the student whether or not they have ever been suspended. In some places in the United States, a suspension is noted on one's transcript, and is a key part in the college acceptance process, giving an advantage to those who have not been suspended. However, other places do not report suspensions or are expressly forbidden from doing so under state law.

Students who visit the school while suspended may be arrested for trespassing. This could result in an extension of suspension, community service, and sometimes jail time. Students who continue to visit the school while suspended could be expelled and sentenced to longer, more severe punishments.

In-school suspension
In-school suspension (ISS), sometimes known as "in-house suspension" or "on-campus suspension", is an alternative setting that removes students from the classroom for a period of time, while requiring students to attend school and complete their work. This form of punishment is often chosen because it provides supervision and structure to the students' days, whereas a student who is given an out of school suspension receives essentially an unscheduled holiday, as out of school suspension is widely considered to be nothing more than a pleasant reward to most students (especially to those who dislike, and frown upon having to go to school), rather than the punishment it is intended to be. Generally, a student assigned to in-school suspension spends the entire school day in the designated ISS location, completes work submitted in advance by the student's teachers, and is monitored by school staff.

One variation of in-school suspension requires the student to arrive at school at a designated time on a Saturday to serve out their punishment, rather than miss class time during the week. This type of punishment is commonly referred to as "Saturday School", though it may go under other names as well. This name is also used to indicate detention, a less serious punishment.