Abandonment of employment

Q: My employee has not shown up for work for three days and has not made contact at all to let us know what’s going on. Can I terminate the employee?

A: This situation could potentially be an abandonment of employment situation. Abandonment of employment occurs when an employer reasonably concludes that an employee no longer intends to be bound by the employment agreement that was entered in to, and therefore has a right to end the employment relationship by termination. Before acting however, there are a number of critical steps an employer should take.

In order for an employer to safely deem an employee to have abandoned their employment, the employer first must make a number of genuine attempts to contact the employee over a reasonable time frame to understand the reason for their absence. A genuine attempt includes trying to make contact by a combination of calling the employee’s home phone and mobile phone numbers, sending an email to a known personal email address, contacting a listed next of kin or any other usual contact method that your business uses. Failing these attempts, a letter on company letterhead should be sent to the employee’s home address asking the employee to make contact.

If the employee remains non contactable after a number of genuine attempts to make contact have been made, the employer may be in a position to terminate the employment relationship. However, as with any process which could potentially involve termination, it is highly recommended that employers seek advice from an employment relations professional prior to taking action.

If you require assistance or advice for your business, Industryus HR can be contacted on 07 5655 4047 or click here.

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