Absence (Unauthorised)

If you fail to comply with the Company’s sickness absence reporting procedure (or to provide the required evidence within the required time period), fail to attend work, fail to return from holiday or are absent from work without permission, your absence is unauthorised and you are classed as AWOL (Absent With Out Leave).

If you are absent from work without good cause and/or fail to properly and effectively notify the Company of your absence, this may be treated as a serious disciplinary offence, potentially constituting gross misconduct.

Procedure

Action on First Day of Absence

On the first day of your absence, your Line Manager will attempt to contact you. If you do not answer the telephone, your manager will attempt to leave a voicemail asking you to return their call.

If your manager is unable to contact you, they may attempt to contact your next of kin or listed emergency contact.

Action on the Second Day of Absence

On the second day of absence, if you have not been in touch and your manager has again been unable to contact you and they have not received a satisfactory explanation from your next of kin or emergency contact, your manager will write to you detailing your absence and the attempts to make contact. This letter will require you to contact your manager within 7 days.

Further Action Following the Deadline

If you do not make contact by the deadline given, you will receive a letter inviting you to attend a disciplinary hearing to explain your absence.

If no response is received to the first invite to disciplinary and/or you do not show up, you will receive a second invite to disciplinary on a rescheduled date. If you do not make contact in relation to this second meeting and/or do not attend, the disciplinary meeting will be conducted in your absence, in accordance with the disciplinary procedure.

Disciplinary Action

If you make contact and/or return to work, your manager will conduct an investigation into the reasons for your absence and your lack of contact with the Company.

If you can give an adequate explanation for your absence and lack of contact and in some cases, provide evidence for this, your manager will conduct a return-to-work interview.

If you are unable to provide an adequate explanation, the Company may treat the absence and the failure to follow the absence reporting procedure as a disciplinary matter.

If your manager considers your failure to attend work to be potential gross misconduct, you will be suspended. The Company will conduct any disciplinary hearing in accordance with its disciplinary procedure.

Unauthorised Annual Leave

If you have been refused a request for annual leave, but declare that you intend to take the time off anyway, your manager will write to you instructing you to attend work. This letter will invite you to reconsider your expressed intention to be absent.

If you fail to attend work after receiving this letter, your absence will be treated as unauthorised.

If you have been refused a request for annual leave, but fail to attend work (either saying that you are sick or by making no contact), the Company will investigate this as a potential unauthorised absence.