What Can I Do If My Employee Is Taking Unauthorised Absences?

As an employer, having staff show up on time and ready to work is crucial for productivity and operational efficiency. But what should you do if an employee fails to turn up for work without authorised reason or your permission? Consider unauthorised absences, where your employee fails to turn up to work without providing a proper reason, such as medical reasons or a family emergency. This is also known as being absent without permission or without authorised leave (AWOL). Unauthorised absences can have major disruptive impacts on your workforce and be incredibly frustrating to manage. This article explains how you can manage unauthorised absences at your workplace. 

Establish Clear Attendance Policies

The first step in handling any unauthorised staff absences is to ensure you have clear attendance and absence notification policies in place. These should be documented in your company staff handbook or employment contracts so expectations are set from the outset.

Policies should cover areas such as:

• how employees should notify you if they cannot attend work, including who to contact and how far in advance is acceptable; 
• what evidence is required for different types of absences, such as medical certificates or statutory forms;
• rules around unauthorised absences with or without reasons provided; 
• disciplinary procedures that may be invoked; and 
• appeals processes for disputed absences. 

By establishing and communicating these standards from day one, you clarify what behaviours and notification procedures you expect concerning attendance and absences. This gives you a solid basis for managing any future issues with employees not showing up for work as required.

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Unauthorised Absence Procedures

If an employee fails to attend work without following your established procedures for requesting authorised leave or providing valid reasons, here are the recommended steps to take. 

1. Contact the Employee

You should attempt to make reasonable contact with your employee on their first day of absence. Under the law, you still have a duty of care towards your staff. Once you attempt to contact them, you should record any attempts in writing, including the date, time and method of contact. 

When you cannot reach your employee, you should also contact their emergency contact for them on record. You should ensure that when speaking to the emergency contact, you do not cause unnecessary concern by:

• speaking calmly; 
• setting out why you are calling; and 
• asking open questions. 

It is important to not jump to conclusions, as the employee’s absence may be justified.

If the employee does contact you later in the day, you should seek to find out the reasons for their absence and consider whether a disciplinary hearing is required. 

As a last resort, and where you have serious concerns about the employee’s welfare, you can consider contacting the police to ask for a welfare check. 

2. Record All Absences

Keep detailed records of each instance that the employee missed work without authorisation, including:

• dates; 
• shifts missed; and 
• if any reason was provided retroactively. 

Having this audit trail is crucial. Keeping such records means you can identify whether there are any repeated patterns of absence or lateness. You should also speak to the employee to find out if there is a reason that you can assist with to prevent repeated absences. 

3. Discuss With the Employee

Arrange a meeting to discuss their unauthorised absences as soon as possible after they return. Hear their explanations, but reiterate your expectations and procedures. It is crucial not to discriminate against employees when recording absences or lateness. For example, if your employee is pregnant and often late to work due to morning sickness and you discipline them for this, it may be considered discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity.

Regardless of whether absences are authorised, holding informal return-to-work meetings is a good practice to understand the reasons and implement support measures if needed.

4. Consider Mitigating Circumstances

There may be compelling reasons behind their absences, such as personal/family issues or underlying physical/mental health conditions. You may need to make reasonable adjustments or allow some authorised leave.

5. Set Attendance Targets

If there are no sufficient mitigating factors, set clear, measurable targets for improved attendance and absence notification going forward. You should also establish a review period to monitor their compliance.

6. Issue Written Warnings

If the attendance issues persist beyond this initial chance to improve, begin issuing formal written warnings that unauthorised absences constitute misconduct and disciplinary action may follow.

7. Handling Pay for Unauthorised Absences

When employees fail to show up for work without authorisation, employers are not obligated to pay them for the time they did not work. According to guidance from ACAS, if someone does not turn up for their scheduled shift or is late, their employer does not have to pay them for that missed time.

To determine if they will be paid for an unauthorised absence, you should:

• check your attendance/absence policy, usually in your staff handbook, if one exists; and 
• review the employment contract terms.

8. Arrange Disciplinary Hearings

Invite the employee to an official disciplinary hearing for continued unauthorised absences, ensuring you follow fair processes around evidence gathering and potential sanctions.

9. Consider Termination

If there is still no improvement, you may decide termination of employment is warranted for instances of unauthorised absence constituting gross misconduct or breaches of contract.

It is crucial to follow fair, compliant disciplinary processes and ensure all unauthorised absence procedures, meetings and outcomes are meticulously documented. Hasty dismissals without proper procedures can expose you to risks of tribunal claims.

Key Takeaways

Overall, it is essential to have clear attendance policies in place from the outset to set expectations for your employees. When managing unauthorised absences, always follow fair and compliant procedures while carefully documenting each instance. Before taking disciplinary action, consider whether there are valid mitigating circumstances. If the absences persist, arrange disciplinary hearings and issue formal written warnings where necessary. Additionally, dismissals should only be a last resort after all proper processes for misconduct or gross misconduct have been followed.

If your employee has unauthorised absences, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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