Ask The Expert - AWOL Employee

‘We have an employee that has not attended work. They have not contacted us or given a reason. What should we do?’ A guide on approaching the process for AWOL employees

It is fairly common to have an employee who does not attend work, without giving advanced notice, booking annual leave or contacting their employer in the first instance. In the absence of a reason, these employees are listed as being absent without leave or taking unauthorised absence.

Employees may not inform their employer of absence using the company policies and/or keep them informed during any period of absence as to their condition and when they are likely to return. In this event, the first port of call would be to contact the employee by phone. If contact can be made, the employee should be asked more details about their absence e.g. the reason, the anticipated length of their absence and their reason for not following the reporting procedures. If contact cannot be established, a voicemail message should be left with details of whom to call back. Notes should be taken in either case to log the attempt at contact.

When the employee returns to work, a Return-to-Work interview should be held to discuss the absence, the reason for the absence and why they did not comply. Depending on the outcome of this meeting, disciplinary action may be an appropriate next step.

If contact cannot be established and maintained with the employee, a clear plan should be followed in terms of the next steps. This should be tailored to the company and consider any relevant policies or processes that are already in place. Some examples of points to note in this plan are:

• Keeping a note of every attempt to contact the employee. This should record: the method of contact, the time and date and outcome e.g. voicemail left, message left etc.
• Where the employee has listed an emergency contact, after several days, it may be appropriate to attempt to contact them. Again, a note of this should be taken.
• Ultimately, disciplinary action is likely to be appropriate where an employee is absent with no known reason for an extended period. Where an invitation for a disciplinary hearing is sent to the employee, this should follow the usual standards re. notice given before the hearing and any relevant evidence supplied in advance. It would also be wise to send the invite via more than one method such as post and email.

Timescales are important in this process and there should be a clear amount of time between each stage, for the steps to be properly followed through. Where an employee does not maintain contact there is recourse for disciplinary action, and eventually dismissal, should there be no legitimate reason given for the absences.

That said, if there is a link to a medical concern for example, employers should thoroughly explore this before they take action to discipline the employee. We would suggest seeking advice on the next steps, before taking action with an employee.