Handling Unauthorized Leave: How Should I Address This Communication Breakdown?

Hello all, I need your input on this matter. A staff member (sonographer) informed my MD that he would not be available for 2 days without informing the HR Manager. He was not asked to also put this in writing, which he is aware of, as it is stated in our employee policy. From my investigation, he said he told someone to cover his shift, knowing fully well that the person works somewhere else on a full-time basis and only works for us part-time. Another issue was that he didn't inform the person of the time they were meant to cover his shift (lack of communication). We were highly incapacitated during this period because he is one of the key employees of the company, and we had to source someone from outside the company to cover those hours on short notice.

Please advise me on how to handle such matters. Should I issue a warning letter even though the MD was informed? If not, how should I go about handling this issue?

Thank you Regards

Apprise the MD of problems faced by this key person's unexpected absence and observe his reaction. After all, as the MD, he holds greater responsibility to ensure smooth operations. I really do not think that HR will be able to take any major action against the technician in this particular instance. Is there any reason why the MD directly listened to a technician asking for leave in this fashion? This situation will need careful handling.

More than anything, this is an internal communication problem. Squarely blaming the employee will not be proper, as he has informed a senior person in advance about his leave. It is suggested to improve internal communication and transition the leave application process to an online platform, involving HR to avoid further problems.

Regards,
Ashutosh Thakre

As Ashutosh said, there may be a gap in internal communication. This is not a case of abrupt absence or unauthorized absence as the steno informed the M.D. about his absence, though he did not inform the HR. Sometimes practices may deviate from policies. Please find out whether this practice is permitted by the M.D. The M.D. might have thought that the employee had informed the HR, and the employee might have thought the M.D. had informed the HR. So, probably the employee deserves the benefit of the doubt for now.

As HR, you need to sort out this communication problem by discussing it with the employee, insisting that in the future, he needs to inform HR as well, despite keeping the M.D. in the loop. I do not know whether the M.D. would like to be involved in matters of daily routine. The stenos, who are becoming a scarce resource now, often act as centers of power as they enjoy greater proximity to the M.D., and that may have also made him casual with HR. See whether taking the matter to the M.D. will be counterproductive.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

True, Mr. Nathrao, I misread it as a stenographer, probably having been carried away by the common observation that stenographers/PAs are associated with M.Ds of companies. And yes, we do not know the hierarchical relationship in the organization. It appears that the problem is structural to allow these lapses. Thanks for the correction.

B. Saikumar