Deal with an employee who goes ahead with a holiday when annual leave has not been authorised
Key points
If an employee is absent on days for which the employer had turned down a request for holiday, the employer should take all reasonable steps to contact the employee to ascertain the reason for the absence before jumping to any conclusions.
When the employee returns to work, the employer should hold a meeting with them to discuss the matter before making a decision on whether or not to begin a disciplinary process.
The employer will not generally be obliged to pay the employee for any period of unauthorised absence.
