Find out what you need to do if an employee has potentially abandoned their employment.
Has an employee not turned up to work for an extended period?
It could be that:
- they have abandoned their employment OR,
- they intend to return work but have taken unauthorised leave.
The reason for the absence will affect the process you should follow, so it is important not to assume that employment has been abandoned without first making enquiries.
Check the employee’s employment agreement. Many employment agreements include an abandonment clause that sets out the period of unauthorised absence that may raise concerns about whether the employee has abandoned their employment, and may also outline the steps the employer will take before treating the employment as abandoned. This period is typically three to five working days.
What are your duties?
When an employee has not turned up to work, it is important to make reasonable effort to contact them. This can include:
- calling all the contact numbers you have listed for the employee multiple times, including their emergency contact(s),
- leaving messages on all contact numbers asking the employee to call you back,
- sending emails and texts to the employee,
- sending a letter to the employee’s mailing address, or
- visiting their home address.
It is best practice to keep a record of all attempted contact and communication with your employee. This is to ensure that you have everything documented in case a dispute is raised in future.
If you contact the employee and learn they have a genuine reason for their absence (for example, they have been admitted to hospital) and they intend to return to work, it is unlikely that the situation would amount to abandonment. We recommend discussing the circumstances with the employee and reminding them of their obligation to keep you informed if they are unable to attend work.
Where possible, employees should arrange for someone to contact you on their behalf if they are unable to do so themselves.
If the employee provides an explanation for their absence, but the absence appears to be unauthorised and unjustified, the matter may be more appropriately treated as a misconduct issue. In that case, a disciplinary process should usually be followed. For further guidance on managing disciplinaries, see our Guide to Managing People.
Dismissal for abandonment
If the period specified in the employment agreement has passed and you have been unable to make contact with the employee despite reasonable efforts, you should consider taking the following steps:
- Advise the employee that their continued unexplained absence may place their employment at risk. We recommend making contact using all available channels, including phone, email, and a letter sent to their last known address.
- If the employee makes contact after a period of unexplained absence, it is generally advisable to act in good faith and invite them to a meeting to discuss the circumstances and give them an opportunity to explain their absence.
- If no response is received after reasonable attempts to make contact, and you are satisfied that the employee has abandoned their employment, you may then notify them by phone, email, and letter that their employment has been terminated in accordance with the abandonment provisions of their employment agreement.
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We encourage you to get in touch as soon as possible if you have a potential abandonment of employment, so we can assist you through this process. Please call our Advice Service on 0800 472 472 (1800 128 086 from Australia) or email [email protected].
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