What should my employer do if an employee walks out?

Question

Accepted Answer

You and your employer should communicate clearly with each other in an abandonment situation.
If you’ve simply not turned up to work, your employer must make a big effort to contact you. There’s no legal number of days before you’re considered to have abandoned your job, but it’s usually three or more. Your employer shouldn’t rush into the process to end employment — you may have a reasonable explanation.
Before you can be fired, your employer needs to have tried to find you and clarified whether you plan to come back. This means calling all contact numbers several times, leaving messages to call back, perhaps visiting your home before sending a letter or email telling you they’re considering ending your employment.
If your employer contacts you and you have a good reason for your absence and intend to return to work, then they can’t rely on abandonment to dismiss you.
Before deciding you’ve abandoned your job, your employer needs to to listen to you with an open mind and consider any other information they may have about the absence, such as medical certificates, or conversations with your family members.
If you can’t get in to work nor let your employer know, you should make sure someone tells them on your behalf. 
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