How to Deal with Absconding Employees: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

We all have faced this or seen someone facing this at least once. Just imagine suddenly an employee disappears. You might wonder if there might be an emergency, an unexpected situation, or a health issue. But you don’t get any information. No calls. No messages. No prior update. Simply, an employee vanishes. Days pass, expecting that they will inform or appear, but there is no clue.

Deadlines are carried forward, the team is struggling to get things done, and you have to answer clients every day. It’s truly a nightmare for the HR team. But that’s nothing other than an employee absconding.

Employee absconding is not just about an uninformed leave, it’s a breach of professional ethics that hampers team’s performance, results in delaying project deliverables, and often leaves HR departments in trouble. Businesses that scale faster or deal with distributed teams in such cases might disturb the project workflow.

Do you know that with each passing day, employee absconding cases are highly rising in India and globally. The industries that fall into tech, BPOs, and field force deal with absconding employees. If you are new to the term ” absconding employee”, don’t worry!

In this blog, we will discuss what employee absconding is, how to deal with absconding employees, and why an employee absconds. Not just that, we will also learn how to write an absconding mail to an employee and what your absconding policy should include.

Whether you are managing remote employees, a growing team, or dealing with a field force, having a grip on managing employee absconding cases can save you from different setbacks and risks. So without waiting anymore, let’s get started.

What is Employee Absconding?

In simple terms, an absconding employee is referred to as an employee who leaves suddenly from job suddenly without serving the notice period or providing any prior information. Here, the employee makes no communication, nor completes the exit formalities, including handover, documentation, or final settlement. You can think of it like an employee leaving the organization without information and with no intention of returning back.

Don’t confuse an absconding employee with a resignation letter. Resignation is a formal letter; here, the employee completes the agreement or mutually decided notice period, makes necessary handovers, documentation, and then leaves. In the case of an absconding employee, neither the notice period is served nor any information to the employer is provided, which makes it an unauthorized absence and is against professional ethics as well as legal agreements

Absconding is not about being absent for a day or two due to unexpected scenarios or health issues. When did it count as absconding? If it falls into any of the following cases:

• When an employee disappears without resignation
• Employee leaves without prior notice and does not respond to follow-ups.
• Absentism is for a long duration, which is against company policies
• The employment relationship is abandoned without any closure.

Why Do People Abscond?

We don’t define absconding as a fair practice, and it’s definitely irresponsible and disrespectful, too. But there can be a story behind the walls. Most absconding cases have reasons, including personal reasons, job dissatisfaction, or internal conflicts within the organization.

See, honestly, there can be multiple reasons varying from human to human, but below we have listed a few common reasons that might pop up:

1. Personal and Family Issues

Many times, health problems, family emergencies, or mental health struggles can make employees take impulsive decisions. It might happen that in such a crucial situation, they choose family over responsibilities, without prior notice.

2. Job Dissatisfaction or Workplace Conflict

There can be times when an employee feels they are not valued enough, their suggestions are not accepted, experience burnout, or are not treated well. No matter you are an organization with 30 or 300, proper recognition programs or steps to address issues must be taken. Lack of positive work environment or poor work-life balance can also contribute to this.

3. Better Job Offers or False Promises

At times, employees also switch jobs without formally resigning when they get a better offer or are misled by a recruiter. Such transitions are often uninformed and lead to abscondment.

4. Fear of Legal or Financial Consequences

Employees who have to pay pending loans, complete outstanding payments, or prepaid dues might have the fear of deductions at the time of final settlement. Thus, instead of discussing it with HR, they might choose the easy way out and disappear.

5. Lack of Awareness or Poor Onboarding

Some new employees and even experienced employees don’t realize the legal implications of their sudden actions. If the employee handbook, employee contract, or company policies were not explained well, they may not realize that suddenly disappearing can affect their future jobs and invite legal notice.

6. Remote Work or Field Force Challenges

As remote workforces and field employees are becoming more common, managing attendance, communication, and taking care of accountability becomes a bigger challenge. When there is no attendance tracking system or field force management software, employees can easily escape, which is recognized later by the team.

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How to Deal with Absconding Employees?

Here’s a clear step-by-step guide to help you deal with absconding professionally and efficiently:

When an employee absconds, it can feel frustrating, but frustration never leads anywhere. Here what you require is a calm, structured approach backed by policy, employee contract and the support of HR department.

1. Verify and Record the Absence

Before you make your decision, get to know the reason for the employee’s absence; it might also be health problems, personal emergencies, or miscommunication. Explore attendance logs, internal messages or emails, and check attempts made to follow up.

Even after many days, if there’s no response, record events formally for legal action.

2. Take Formal Action

Plan to share an official absconding mail to the employee using a standard absconding mail format. This formal email must include:

• The number of days the employee has been absent
• Request for immediate communication
• A disclaimer or reference to the employee’s contract or employee handbook
• Information about potential legal consequences or impact on future employment if there’s no response

This formal step is a final wake-up call for employees who might be second-guessing their abrupt exit.

3. Give them Appropriate Time for Response

Mostly, companies provide 7 to 15 days (as mentioned in the abscondment policy) for the employees to reply. During this period, the employer can record all follow-ups and responses. With this, the employer can protect their business from legal implications.

4. Share a Final Absconding Letter

Even after this, if the employee doesn’t respond, share a formal absconding letter. It must include:

• A proper summary of their absence
• The final date of employment (if not returning)
• Affect on their relieving letter, final settlement, and background checks

With this step, your HR responsibilities are fulfilled, and the employment relationship is closed officially.

5. Take Preventive HR Measures

Once the case is closed, plan to strengthen your internal system to minimize employee absconding cases in the future:

• Make sure you are crystal clear while onboarding. Clearly explain to the employee the notice period, exit formalities, and legal consequences
• Make your absconding employee policy stronger
• Make use of field force management software and employee productivity tracking tools for accessing remote teams
• Maintain a positive workplace culture and plan new retention strategies, like skill development and recognition programs

How to Write an Absconding Mail to the Employee?

Before writing an absconding mail, make sure that the absconding mail format you follow maintains a balance between professionalism and clarity. The mail must include the employee’s absence, violation of the employment contract, and the consequences if no reply is received.

Major Points to Include:

• Employee’s name, designation, and employee ID
• Number of consecutive days of unauthorized absence
• Reference to the company’s abscondment policy
• Request for immediate clarification or return
• Consequences of continued silence (e.g., legal notice, termination, relieving letter denial)
• Deadline or a certain date for response
• Contact information for the HR department

Sample Absconding Mail to Employee (Absconding Mail Format)

Sample Absconding Letter Format (Final Absconding Notice)

When it comes to defining abscondment policy, make sure your policy mentions unauthorized absence, outlines disciplinary steps, links to the employment contract, and explains legal and financial consequences of absconding.

Wrapping Up

That’s all for this blog! Here we saw what employee absconding really means, why it happens, how to deal with absconding, how to write an absconding mail to the employee, and what to include in an effective absconding employee policy.

We hope this helped you understand how to deal with such cases professionally, while safeguarding your company’s interests and being aligned with local laws and your employment contract.

See, the goal isn’t just to chase absconders—it’s to prevent absconding. Now, for that, you might need a clear policy, strong communication, and a positive work environment to go a long way in building a responsible, engaged team. Super Field Force helps you do all this from one single dashboard, and that too in a few clicks. Book a demo today and see the magic.