Had one where I worked, where the employee was on an annual contract, and upper management wanted to get rid of her, but couldn't until the contract ran out. Since the annual contracts were set up a couple of months in advance, she would have known she wasn't getting rehired.
They stuck her in an office for the last two months, a couple of miles away from the main business. She had to go in every day to this office with no windows, no computer, and no responsibilities. Just sit there for eight hours. I think she read books and looked for a new job.