Employee Took a Two-Week Holiday Without Approval – How Should I Handle This?

I have one staff member applying for leave for a long holiday of about two weeks, but his Head of Department (HOD) did not approve the leave. However, the staff member still went on his holiday. Please advise.

If leave is not supported with proper approval from the Reporting Manager/HOD, then you should deduct the same irrespective of position/role, but inform them before processing their salaries.

Regards,
Prafull

If the leave is for two weeks, it should be applied for a minimum of 10 days in advance, and after obtaining approval from the sanctioning authority, only then should the concerned employee proceed on leave. If the employee proceeds on leave without permission, send a telegram to the address mentioned in the leave application/present/permanent addresses, which are as per his personal file, asking him to report for duty immediately. Wait for three more days and send one more telegram. After that, send a charge sheet and initiate disciplinary action—this is only one side of the coin.

As far as knowledge is concerned, no employee will proceed on leave for so many days knowing the implications. As an HR person, you should know the critical reason behind his actions. If I am not wrong, the employee might have approached the HOD with a serious cause, but the HOD might not have heard his requests and not sanctioned the leave. Sometimes, the HODs will confirm orally, and once the pressure comes from the top, they simply deny it. Please check on all these fronts. Before initiating action, look into his past record because it shall be very critical.

Regards,
Kamesh

Leave Denial Despite Available Leave Balance

When an employee has leaves in their account, why does the HOD deny them the opportunity to avail of the leave? Please investigate the entire situation.

Regards,
Pon

We should understand and respect the criticality and delivery commitments of the HODs. They might have denied, but the same needs to be communicated in writing to the employee when the HOD received a request from the employee. On the other side of the coin, the employee's primary responsibility is to get the leave sanctioned before proceeding on leave.

Regards,
Kamesh

Reasons for Leaving Without Permission

If an employee is leaving without taking permission, there could be three reasons:

1. The employee has already decided to leave the organization, and because of this action, the company will ask him to leave, and the full salary will be paid.
2. He has already decided to leave the company, so it hardly matters to him whether he gets the approval or not (provided he has already received the salary).
3. The employee is having urgent work, so on those grounds, once he comes up, a warning has to be given with a discussion on this.

Regards,
Richa Srivastava

Currently, things are happening as Mr. Richa mentioned.

Regards,
Kanthiah Alias Deepak Ram

Leave Application and Management's Prerogative

It is primarily the responsibility of an individual to apply for leave and get the same approved before proceeding on leave. It is the prerogative of the management to sanction or deny leave, which will depend upon the exigencies of work.

In many cases, people go on leave—with approval—and are called back to the office on account of emergencies or exigencies. Therefore, it is management's right to sanction or otherwise. Even in government services, departments, and defense sectors, employees are called back. That is why you would have seen in the leave letter format a mention of the contact address and phone number underneath, so that the management can contact him/her in case of an emergency. In a renowned software company, I know my neighbor's friend was pulled to the office on his wedding day—immediately after tying the "Mangalsutra." The officers waited for this important event to take place and took him to the office for that emergency job. He came back and joined his newly wedded wife for lunch later; that was a different story.

However, at times, it so happens that things are done with something in mind. This will be known only when you start probing and analyzing the situation.

As far as this employee is concerned, what he did—not submitting an approved leave letter—was wrong. You need to communicate with him and ask him to report for duty forthwith.

Regards,
Balaji

This is not a good activity done by your concerned HOD regarding leave sanction. If he has to go on leave, then he can because he is the HOD. It doesn't mean that the concerned HOD can misuse their power and authority. This is very bad.

Thanks & Regards

I do not fully agree with your statement or thought. If any employee has to go, either he has to take leave, or the HOD must approve the leave of the concerned employee. Leave is also a part of the job.

Thanks

Hi everyone, I just want to add one more aspect. Many are thinking from the company's point of view, but consider the employee's perspective as well. At some point, we have faced situations where we wanted to take leave but our Head of Department didn't approve, perhaps due to some prejudice or just like that. I will only say, before taking any important step, check both sides.

Dear all,

Company Policy on Absence Without Leave (AWOL)

This is a company policy, and everyone must comply with this discipline and honor it.

Any absence during normal working hours, which is not covered by an approved Leave Request, including any leave in excess of the period specified by an approved Leave Request, or which is not authorized by a special and specific ruling by competent Company authority, is considered Absence Without Leave (AWOL).

For HR reviewing the employees' attendance records, any AWOL should be identified by the Payroll Unit in the HR Department. The HR Department will verify the AWOL by discussing it with the employee's supervisor and the employee if necessary. The AWOL will be recorded in the employee's leave record. For exempt personnel who do not use Time Cards, AWOL must be reported by the employee's supervisor to higher authority and to the HR Department for similar record and action if necessary.

Excessive AWOL will result in disciplinary action or termination. In our country, AWOL may not exceed 3 consecutive working days at one time or exceed 6 working days in one month. The employee will be legally fired.

The record of AWOL will be considered during the annual performance review or merit increase.

However, yes, it looks like the employee has made his decision to leave this company.

Best regards,
John