Absconding

What is Absconding?

Absconding is a situation where an employee does not report to work for 3-4 consecutive days without prior notice or informing their respective managers and the HR department. The absconded employee can be identified when his absence continues or never turns up. The organization can take necessary actions against the employee who absconds without prior information. A well-defined HR policy would provide the guidelines to handle such cases.

For example,

• A employee worked with a company for a year. At the beginning of the week, monday he did not report to work.
• Till the end of the week i.e. for 6 days he was not present in the office and not even turned up to inform the managers or the HRs.
• The management was not aware why the employee was not reporting to work. This employee absconded from work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does absconding happen?

The reasons for absconding are:

• Spontaneous decision
• Personal reasons or sickness
• Dissatisfaction from job
• Mental stress
• False promises while hiring
• Unhealthy relation with the team and manager
• Absence of encouragement in the workplace

Why is absconding not good?

An employees’ reputation is tarnished, and his job profile may be banned, or he may be unable to find a job for absconding. On the other hand, it may risk the confidential data of the organization. Thus it is terrible for both sides.

How can organizations reduce employee absconding?

Absconding is highly disadvantageous for any organization. Therefore, they should:

• Formulate strong policies regarding absenteeism and absconding.
• Before onboarding, a new employee always perform background checks.
• Implement some employee retention strategies and keep employees engaged and motivated.

Should the employer continue the salary if an employee absconds?

No. The employer has all rights to stop the payment to the absconder. However, he must clear all the pending dues until the employee’s last day at the organization.

What happens if absconding takes place during the notice period?

If the absconder does not serve the notice period or resignation, he is responsible for paying the remaining salary for that period.

Why are termination and absconding not similar?

The situation when an employee breaches the employment contract is known as Termination. Whereas the one wherein he remains absent in an informal manner, without any early indication, is called Absconding.