I am an HR Manager and have received an email from an employee who has told me that he will be leaving the country for a few days to attend a family wedding. He did not seek my prior agreement to this request and since the email I have not heard from him, several days have passed. As far as I am concerned, this is unauthorised absence.  How do I handle it?

You should act quickly, unauthorised absences can be costly to any business and it is important to try and resolve such an issue as soon as it emerges.

The first step will be to write to the employee, notifying them that the absence is unauthorised.  It is important to avoid sending a hasty response, without carefully considering the wording of any correspondence.  In such instances, some employers may choose to state in communication to their employee that their conduct, in failing to attend work, implies that they intend to, or have, resigned. However, I would caution against this approach, as a Tribunal may not draw the same inference and may instead view the employer’s correspondence as tantamount to a dismissal.

If the employee makes contact with you again, you should have an informal discussion with them, to find out the reasons for the absence and why the employee has not followed any proper procedures. If there is no acceptable reason for the absence, it could be treated as misconduct, and dealt with fairly under the Company’s disciplinary procedures.

If disciplinary action is to be considered, the employee should be invited to a disciplinary hearing, where it should be explained to them that the absence was unauthorised and the reasons why.  You will obviously have to consider any explanation for the absence that they provide at the hearing. In deciding what action to take, following the disciplinary hearing, the company should consider the seriousness of the misconduct and refer to any examples of misconduct that may be included in an employee handbook or company policy.  In this case it will be important to look at factors, such as the reason for and length of the unauthorised absence.  The company should then write to the employee informing them of the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and of their right to appeal.

However, what happens in the alternative scenario where, after several attempts, you still have been unable to make contact with the employee? You will have to consider the possibility of termination of their employment due to their unauthorised absence.

Given that employees with over one years’ service accrue unfair dismissal rights, their length of service will be an important factor to consider at this stage.  We would strongly advise that, in those circumstances, legal advice should be obtained prior to effecting any dismissal, as, should a fair procedure not be followed, then an employer could find itself potentially facing an automatically unfair dismissal claim.