How To Deal With Desertion From Work

The operation of a business can be severely disrupted when an employee is absent without leave. This in turn can hit the company’s bottom line.

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Employees have an obligation to inform their employer if they plan to be absent from work. It is seldom that an employee has no means whatsoever of communicating this message.

A deserter is an employee who is absent from work for more than five days, without notifying the employer and with no intention of returning to the workplace.

As the absence of the employee may affect the company’s bottom line, the business owner should be aware of his or her rights and responsibilities in this regard.

THE EMPLOYER’S PLAN OF ACTION

It is very important that the employer is able to prove that the employee had no intention of returning to work. The employer must therefore try to contact the employee to establish the reason for being absent, to urge the employee to return to work, and to inform the employee of the consequences of his or her absence.