How to Handle a No-Show Employee: What UK Employers Can Do

An employee who does not show up for work and does not call in is one of the most disruptive situations a small business owner faces — particularly in trades, where you may have a job booked and a crew that cannot start without them. This guide tells you exactly what to do, in the right order, and what your legal options are.

Step one: attempt to make contact immediately

Your first action is not disciplinary. It is practical. Call the employee. If they do not answer, send a text message and an email. Try their emergency contact if you have one. Document every attempt — time, method, outcome.

There are legitimate reasons an employee might not show up: a medical emergency, a family crisis, a mental health episode. You do not know yet. Your attempts to contact them are both a reasonable management step and evidence that you acted responsibly if the situation escalates.

Do this on day one. Do not wait.

Step two: send a formal written notice

If you have had no contact after 24 to 48 hours, send a letter or email to the employee's home address and personal email. State that they have failed to attend work without authorisation, that you have attempted to contact them, and that you require them to contact you by a specific date and time. Keep the tone factual, not threatening.

Keep a copy of everything you send. If the matter ends in a tribunal claim, your documented attempts to contact the employee are evidence of a fair process.

Step three: decide whether to suspend or continue waiting

If the employee has been absent for several days with no contact, you have a decision to make. For most small businesses, the right move is to write again — formally — setting a final deadline for contact and stating that failure to respond may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Do not simply dismiss at this stage. Even prolonged unauthorised absence without contact requires a disciplinary process before termination.

Step four: begin the disciplinary process

Once you have made reasonable attempts to contact the employee and received no response, or once they have returned and you have established the absence was not authorised, begin the formal disciplinary process.

Send an invitation letter to a disciplinary hearing. State the allegation — unauthorised absence — the date and time of the meeting, the right to be accompanied, and that dismissal is a possible outcome.

If the employee is still absent, send the letter to their home address by recorded delivery. Keep the proof of postage. Give a reasonable deadline for response — five working days is standard.

If they do not respond to the invitation, you can proceed with the hearing in their absence. Document that you did so and why. Send the outcome letter to their home address.

Step five: make the decision

At the disciplinary hearing — whether they attend or not — consider the full picture. How long was the absence? Did they make any contact at all? Is there a history of similar behaviour? Is there any explanation that could mitigate what happened?

If the absence was short, there is a plausible explanation, and there is no prior history, a written warning may be the proportionate outcome.

If the absence was prolonged, there was no contact at all, and there is no credible explanation, dismissal may be justified.

State your reasoning in the outcome letter. Confirm the right of appeal.

What not to do

Do not dismiss by text message. Do not remove the employee from the rota and assume that ends the employment relationship. Do not refuse to engage with any explanation they offer, however late it arrives. Each of these creates straightforward tribunal risk.

What changes from January 2027

How Birchlow helps

Birchlow generates the letters you need to handle unauthorised absence correctly — the initial written notice, the invitation to a disciplinary hearing, and the outcome letter — all updated to reflect current employment law. The platform logs each step with a timestamp so your process is fully documented if a claim is made.