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A decision to suspend an employee without pay while he faces criminal charges over an alleged workplace assault has been upheld as fair and reasonable, despite his strenuous denials of any wrongdoing.

Other than denying the charges and maintaining that they were "unproven and untested", the employee had provided no information – due to exercising his right to silence – to shift the employer's "reasonable belief" that he might be liable to discipline, Queensland Industrial Relations Commissioner Peter O'Neill said.

The Commission heard that in late March 2024, Central West Hospital and Health Service (CWHHS) received reports that the employee – a registered graduate nurse – had allegedly sexually assaulted a colleague, three days earlier, in the nurses' accommodation at Barcaldine Hospital.

The employer initially suspended the employee with pay. But after Queensland Police charged him on four counts, it asked him to show cause as to why he shouldn't be suspended without pay...