In an employment relationship, the terms of the contract specify the respective rights and duties of the parties. One of these rights on the part of the employer is the right to discipline. There are several disciplinary measures that can be exercised by an employee, such as fines and deductions, demotion, transfers, reprimand and others. One of such disciplinary options is suspension. This is a temporary cessation of an employee’s work on account of a serious infraction at the workplace. This temporary withdrawal of the employee’s services is intended to either investigate or discipline the employee in response to the allegations against them. Makadi Izang in his article, A Critical Examination of Suspension as a Disciplinary Option Exercisable by an Employer over an Employee, adopts the doctrinal approach to legal research, wherein both primary and secondary sources of law were examined, analysed, and evaluated, including judicial authorities as well. Izang finds that an employer is vested with the right to suspend an erring employee, but such suspension should be in accordance with the terms of the employment contract, the law, or pursuant to a collective agreement. Izang identifies several pertinent issues arising from suspension, including the period of suspension, fair hearing and/or natural justice, suspension and interdiction, and extension of suspension. Judicial authorities show that suspension should not be prolonged or indefinite, that it may be extended, and that fair hearing and/or natural justice is immaterial. Izang recommends that there should be legislative intervention in the form of a specific law that caters for suspension and other disciplinary mechanisms in the world of work. Additionally, it is recommended that during the suspension period, the employee be kept informed about the process to prevent unnecessary uncertainty.

Professor Israel Worugji & Nheoma Worugji in their article, Judicial Response to the Challenges of Maternity Harassment in Employment Relations in Nigeria, revisit the issues of maternity harassment in the workplace. Their contribution explores the judicial response to the challenges of maternity harassment in the workplace in Nigeria. The aim is to expose the extent to which the right to work and job security of the pregnant and nursing mother is protected, considering the global drive to protect the maternity rights of the working mother and the drive against maternity harassment in particular. The work reviewed the court decisions in some cases involving loss of work on the grounds of pregnancy, where the court declared the termination of the employment on such grounds wrongful and unconstitutional and awarded damages. It commends the judicial strides of awarding substantial monetary damages in dealing with the issues of maternity harassment. However, it posits that the judicial responses, short of reinstatement, do not guarantee income and job security to pregnant women because of the sustained loss of employment in such cases. It, therefore, calls for sustainable legislative and policy intervention to guarantee reinstatement to work in such cases.

Oyebanjo Akinola, in his article, Enforcement of Training Bond: A Critical Appraisal of Applicable Principles, notes that the practice of sponsoring new employees in a company to undergo training fully funded by the employer on the assurance that the employee will remain in the employment of the employer for an agreed period after the completion of the training is a common practice in the workplace. The problem, however, almost often arises when employees, upon completion of the training, either due to better job opportunities or the zeal to seek greener pastures with their newly acquired certificate or skillset, decide to leave the employment of the employer/sponsor before the expiration of the agreed time. The disgruntled employer who often find the departure to be unjust and seeks to recoup the amount spent in training the employee usually gets to know that the legal consequences of their kind gestures are far beyond their expectations and predictions, as Courts will, in most cases require more than proof of mere execution of the training bond before the aggrieved employer can recoup the cost expended on the employee. Akinola critically examines the guiding principles surrounding the enforcement of training bonds, considering the established rules as it relates to aviation and other sectors within Nigeria and other jurisdictions.