Absenteeism and Late Coming – Employer’s Frustration
Published in Labour Law · 5 July 2022
It is an implicit duty of every employee to be present at work and to be on time. Yet every employer has experienced some form of absenteeism or late-coming from its workforce. The issues of absenteeism and late-coming may be extended to other time-keeping offences such as leaving work early; taking extended tea, lunch or toilet breaks etcetera.
An employees is paid a salary in return for firstly, being present at work and secondly, to complete his/her duties. If the employee is not at work, then he or she cannot fulfil the duties that he or she is contractually obligated to. This situation often results in unmanned departments, slow production and failure to meet deadlines.
As an employer, the first step is to sign a written contract of employment with an employee that clearly stipulates the hours of work. The contract of employment must also contain a disciplinary code that stipulates what will happen if the employee is absent or reports for duty late. Employers must follow up any instances of latecoming or absenteeism with verbal, written and final warnings followed by disciplinary hearings. Furthermore employers must accommodate for latecoming and absenteeism in their company policy and procedure document. For example an employer may stipulate that an employee is to contact their line manager before their shift begins in the event that he or she is going to be late or be unable to attend work for whatever reason. It is not the duty of the employer to contact an employee to find out why he/she is not at work – this is the responsibility of the employee.
Remember, the employee must also justify the absence or late-coming by providing valid reasons. In the event that an employee is AWOL and has failed to inform the employer or superior of the intended absence the employer may withhold payment for the day.
An employee who fails to notify the employer of the reason for prolonged absence within a reasonable time, renders the absence more serious – and the employee, if absent for more than 3 days ( in some cases 5 days ) may result in he/she having absconded or deserted. An employee who provides a valid reason for this type of absence may not be found guilty of misconduct. It is therefore important to stipulate what is and is not valid.
Strikes, unrest, violence and political stay-away have become the norm these days. A good policy to adopt is that quite simply, any absence because of unrest, violence, political stay-away or national strike or stay-away will be treated individually. Factors to be considered here are media coverage and the attendance of other employees from the same area. Deliberate and wilful absenteeism is when the employee does not come to work with no reason. There is usually a pattern, such as the employee is always absent on payday or the day after payday – or is always absent on a Monday or a Friday.
Whatever happens, the event must be recorded in the employee’s file. It is sometimes important to hold a counselling session with the employee where necessary as it may be discovered that the employee has poor time management skills and needs assistance in this regard. The record keeping is vital in the event that the employee becomes a habitual latecomer or absentee. Employees must also be warned that continuous timekeeping offences can result in dismissal.
Employees should take heed and think twice before being absent from work as the most crucial duty of an employee is to be present at work. Absenteeism and late-coming disrupts the productivity of an organisation and must therefore be dealt with to prevent it from becoming the custom.
This article does not constitute legal advice and is based on the author’s interpretation of legislation and case law. Book a consult for legal advice or assistance pertaining to your specific matter.