How Should Employers Legally Handle Unauthorized Absences When Warnings Fail?

Employer Actions for Unauthorized Absence

What actions can be taken by an employer as per the law in the case of unauthorized absence? I have read some of the discussions, and I came to know that warning letters can be issued, show-cause notices can be issued, and salary deductions can be made.

My query is, if salary can also be deducted in approved leave without pay, then what actions can be taken exactly after issuing a warning letter? Also, what steps can be taken after issuing the show-cause notice if the employee is not responding to these notices?

Mam, you can send another warning notice by specifying the last date and time of joining. Even then, if he does not join, please send him a termination letter.

Thanks for your reply. I have one more query: which law permits an employer to terminate an employee in this case? As per my understanding, it should be considered misconduct. Can an employer terminate an employee on the grounds of misconduct? If yes, then which law states that it should be considered misconduct? If possible, please provide me with a source document or laws that completely guide about unauthorized leave.

Regards,

Please send a letter by Registered Acknowledgement Due (AD) to the employee's address as per records held with the HR Department. The letter should clearly state that the employee has been absent without authorized leave from (date). The employee should be directed to join duty within seven days (specify date). Also, mention that failure to do so will lead to the deletion of the name from the muster roll.

If the employee does not join by the directed date, then send another letter stating that since the employee has not joined duty as directed, his/her name has been struck off the muster roll with effect from (date).

Hope this clarifies the issue.

Regards,
Ajay

Just because an employee is absent, you can't just terminate their employment with your company. First, send a registered letter informing them about their unauthorized absence from duty and instruct them to join duty immediately with clear instructions that ex-parte disciplinary proceedings will be taken against them if they do not join within the stipulated time.

If the employee joins, get a written explanation for the unauthorized absence. If satisfied, accept the joining letter; otherwise, contemplate disciplinary proceedings as per your company rules, as unauthorized absence constitutes misconduct. If the employee does not join or no reply is received within the stipulated time, then conduct ex-parte disciplinary proceedings and proceed to terminate the employee.

Note: Please remember that the termination of an employee is a significant event in the employee's life and has far-reaching social consequences. Therefore, it is better to give the employee a reasonable opportunity to rectify their conduct.

Regards,
Lawrence Sathiyaraj J

When an employee takes unauthorized leave, it is treated as misconduct.

1. There is no issue in this regard.
2. Firstly, management needs to decide if such an employee wants to continue working or not.
3. If not, HR should issue a show cause notice to the employee three times within an interval of 10 to 15 days accordingly.
4. If there is no response from the employee, management should conduct a domestic inquiry as per the law.
5. If the employee does not participate in the domestic inquiry, management should decide to send a termination letter to the employee.
6. If the domestic inquiry is not conducted, the employee may file a case against management. In such a scenario, if the case goes to the labor court, the employee may receive an award.
7. If the employee agrees to participate, the HR person should visit the employee's residence for verification and to conduct counseling.

Hi,

I terminated an employee after 15 consecutive days of absence. Before terminating him, I sent several letters asking him to rejoin, but I did not receive any response. He filed a case in the labor court, and the inspector asked me why I did not conduct a domestic inquiry before termination, as it appeared that the employee intentionally stopped coming to work.

What should be the procedure if I am wrong?

Dear Pooja,

Yes, what the labor officer has told is correct. You should have conducted a domestic enquiry before termination. Sending emails or letters cannot suffice the purpose of the enquiry. Now find out whether mediation is possible when the case comes up for hearing.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Certainly! Here is the corrected and formatted text:

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Ok, suggest to me if any employee is not ready to work (continuously absent) and communicating with us that he doesn't want to come back and work but in the same way not ready to submit a resignation, then what should be the procedure?

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I have corrected the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors in the text while ensuring proper paragraph formatting. Let me know if you need any more assistance.

Handling Unauthorized Absence: A Step-by-Step Approach

If an employee does not report for their duties or submit their resignation, you could have issued a show-cause notice for their unauthorized absence. If they remained unresponsive or if the explanation was not credible, then you could have sent them a notice to attend a domestic inquiry. If they failed to turn up, you could have ordered a domestic inquiry a second time. If they failed to turn up or if the misconduct was proven, then you could have proceeded with terminating the employee.

At this stage, your problem is that you did not follow the principles of natural justice, hence landing in judicial trouble. While the procedure outlined in the paragraph above may seem boring and corny, compared with litigation, it is less enduring!

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar