Employee Left Without Permission: Was Asking for Resignation the Right Move?

Dear All,

This is my first post on Citehr. I am working in a consultancy, and one of our employees left the office without us granting him permission. What type of action can be taken in this situation? I asked him to resign if he wants to leave without taking permission, and he accepted. Did I do the right thing?

Thank you.

Hi Vass,

Does this mean he is absent without any approved leave? Did you ask him to leave and resign orally or in writing? Did he submit his resignation letter? Are you treating him as a deserter now if no resignation is received? How many years has he served in your firm? What made you decide to take such a drastic action? Are there any past incidents?

Thank you.

You have not mentioned how long he/she has worked in your organization. Was the employee permanent or in a probationary period? Generally, leaving a company without any prior notice has to be treated as an absconding case. It's good that you made the employee resign. This decision is mainly beneficial for the employee's future career. Otherwise, you would have treated him with an absconding case and prevented him from gaining any experience, a relieving letter, and his notice period payouts.

Hi. As I didn't approve his leave and he still wants to go, having a lot of pending work, I said if you want to leave, you have to resign, and he accepted that. It clearly shows his irresponsibility and carelessness.

We had a few issues with him, and after repeatedly sending emails and having multiple conversations about his behavior at work and his inactivity in the workplace, I finally made the decision.

Hi Vchow,

You are yet to answer the following queries raised earlier -

You didn't approve his request for leave. Was any application received or only verbally asked? Does this mean he is absent without any approved leave since he left?

Did he submit his resignation letter?

Are you treating him as a deserter now if no resignation is received?

How many years did he serve in your firm?

What made you decide to impose such a severe punishment? Are there any past incidents?

I hope this helps clarify the questions you had. Let me know if you need further information.

He asked me verbally, and I didn't approve, but still, he decided to leave. So, I asked him to resign. There is no resignation letter till now, and he was so careless and inactive at work. He easily gets influenced by other employees and carries words. He has been working for two months on probation.

You may be within your right to refuse approval of leave asked orally, given his on-duty indiscipline as described by you. As he is still only 2 months into his probationary period, there is no point in continuing with this slack anymore. Therefore, move on, read the terms and conditions of his appointment order, and arrange the issuance of a notice or show cause of termination as stipulated in the 'causes' of i) unsatisfactory performance during the probation period; ii) absence without approved leave. If the 'termination during probation' requires one or two months of notice, you may act accordingly. I don't see any hope of continuing with him.