Unauthorised absence

Check welfare and the reason first

An employee who does not attend or make contact may be ill, dealing with an emergency, unable to communicate or deliberately absent. The record is initially unexplained, not proven misconduct. Follow the agreed contact process, try reasonable contact methods and consider whether there is an immediate welfare concern.

The Acas unauthorised-absence guidance recommends checking the facts before deciding how to classify the time. Record contact attempts and avoid sharing speculation with colleagues.

Classify the absence after hearing the explanation

When contact is made, ask what happened and why the reporting procedure was not followed. The absence may turn out to be sickness, emergency time off, an agreed adjustment or another recognised reason. Correct the record if it was wrongly marked unauthorised.

If there is no valid reason, decide pay under the contract and policy. An employer will not usually have to pay for time the employee did not work, but should not make a wider deduction without a lawful basis. Do not treat an unapproved holiday request as resignation or assume that silence ends employment.

Separate fact-finding from sanction

Persistent or deliberate unauthorised absence can be misconduct. That conclusion should follow a fair investigation and the applicable disciplinary procedure, not precede them. Acas's guidance where there is no valid reason still requires a fair process.

Tell the employee the concern and evidence, let them respond, consider consistency and any mitigating circumstances, then decide an outcome that is proportionate. Northern Ireland employers should use the Labour Relations Agency framework referenced in the official nidirect guidance. Keeping welfare, classification and conduct as separate decisions reduces both practical mistakes and avoidable escalation.