Medical Suspensions From Work: Full Pay While Barred From Your Job

Medical suspension is the rarest right in this cluster and the most valuable when it bites: full pay, not SSP, while you are healthy but legally barred from your own job. The two regimes and the traps.

Regime 1: statutory medical suspension

• Trigger: a requirement or recommendation under specified regulations - control of lead at work, ionising radiation dose limits, and certain COSHH-related health surveillance outcomes - means you cannot continue your normal work
• Service: at least one month’s continuous employment
• Pay: full normal pay for up to 26 weeks of suspension
• Conditions: you must be otherwise fit for work (if you are actually ill, sick pay rules apply instead) and must not have unreasonably refused suitable alternative work
• Enforcement: tribunal claim within 3 months for unpaid amounts

The fit-for-work condition is the pivot: a radiation worker over the dose limit but healthy receives full pay; the same worker signed off sick receives sick pay (£123.25 statutory) instead. Employers sometimes misclassify suspensions as sickness to pay the lower rate - the trigger document (the health surveillance or dose record) decides which regime applies.

Regime 2: pregnant workers and new mothers

Refusing suitable alternative work loses the right to pay during the suspension - but the alternative must genuinely suit both the work and the terms. Demoting a suspended pregnant worker onto lower pay fails the test and doubles as discrimination.

What medical suspension is not

Suspension pending a disciplinary or capability investigation is a different creature (contractual, normally on full pay by policy), and so is being sent home under an infection control policy without a statutory trigger - that is the employer’s choice and must be paid in full. Agency workers barred by a hirer on medical grounds have equivalent rights against the agency for up to 26 weeks.

Related guides

This article provides general information only and is not legal or financial advice. Employment rights depend on your contract, employment status and circumstances. For advice on a specific situation, contact ACAS on 0300 123 1100 or a solicitor regulated by the SRA. Figures relate to the 2026/27 tax year and are verified against GOV.UK at the review date; always confirm current rates on GOV.UK before acting.

Frequently asked questions

What is medical suspension from work?

A statutory suspension on full pay, for up to 26 weeks, where health and safety law - lead, ionising radiation, or certain hazardous substance rules - prevents you doing your normal job while you remain otherwise fit for work.

Do I get full pay if suspended on medical grounds?

Yes - normal full pay for up to 26 weeks, provided you have a month’s service and have not unreasonably refused suitable alternative work. Pregnancy-related suspensions carry full pay with no time cap.

What if I am pregnant and my job is risky?

The employer must first remove the risk by adjusting conditions or hours, then offer suitable alternative work, and only then suspend you on full pay for as long as needed. Skipping to unpaid leave is unlawful.

Is suspension during a disciplinary investigation the same thing?

No - that is contractual suspension, normally on full pay under policy, with no connection to the statutory medical suspension scheme.

Can I be suspended on medical grounds if I am actually sick?

No - if you are incapable of work through illness, sick pay rules apply instead. Medical suspension is specifically for people who are fit to work but legally barred from their particular job.

Do agency workers get medical suspension pay?

Yes - where a hirer ends an assignment on the specified medical grounds, the agency worker has equivalent rights to remuneration for up to 26 weeks against the agency.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Suspensions from work for medical reasons
• HSE: New and expectant mothers at work
• ACAS: Suspension from work