Disciplinary Action Letter for Absenteeism

A disciplinary action letter for absenteeism is a document, which is prepared and handed out by an employer to an employee, who has not exhibited good attendance, and against whom, disciplinary action is being taken. Unlike a warning letter, it is more like a notification letter, that informs the culpable employee about the chosen disciplinary action.

Absenteeism is one of such unprofessional behaviors which is not acceptable to a company at all. Clearly, if an employee is not present, he will not be working, which will affect the overall productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency of an organization. When the work, the employee has been hired for, is not being completed due to his absence, the employee’s value for the company declines. If an employee has a reason or justification for being absent, an organization may show some leverage. Otherwise, he will have to suffer from disciplinary action, the severity of which depends on the company policies and the extent of the absenteeism issue.

When a disciplinary committee takes a decision, after reviewing all the factors, it issues a letter to the guilty employee and informs him about his punishment. The information included in a disciplinary action letter for absenteeism may depend on the severity of the issue, company requirements, etc. Sometimes, the company designs the template itself or takes an available design and edits it. The commonly used template contains at least the following basic details:

  • Date
  • Employer information
  • Employee information
  • The problem of the employee’s absenteeism. Mention any incidents, average attendance over different intervals, etc.
  • Impact on the organization
  • The decision of the disciplinary committee
  • The effective dates and time-period of the disciplinary action
  • The organization’s possible actions in case of no improvement
  • Show expectation of correction.
  • Offer any motivation, if feasible.
  • Salutation and signature.  

When an employee is subjected to disciplinary action, it affects his record and could affect his reputation, evaluation, promotions, and overall career, etc. Therefore, the employees try their best to evade any sort of disciplinary letters and correct their behavior before such drastic measures by the company.

Such letters do not only serve as a punishment for the guilty employee, rather, they are also an indication, for other employees, of the consequences they could face in the case of their indulgence in the unprofessional behavior of absenteeism.

Sample Disciplinary Action Letter for Absenteeism

Date

Name

Address

Dear Ms. Lilly,

It is to notify that you have been subjected to a disciplinary action for your irresponsible behavior of absenteeism.

Over the last six months, your attendance has only been 60% on average. This has affected the productivity of your whole department, which in turn has affected the overall company. To give value output, you need to be present in the office, which you often are not.

We have given you enough time to provide solid justifications, and have given oral and written warnings, but in vain. You have pushed us to take this disciplinary action against you. You have been suspended for two months, i.e., April and May 20XX, without pay. Once you come back on 1st June 20XX, you will remain under constant surveillance. If your absenteeism would continue, you will be terminated immediately, even without the notice period.

However, if you will improve your behavior, after three months’ observation, the committee will exclude your name from the surveillance list. We hope that you will come back with full enthusiasm and focus and would try to improve your unprofessional habit of absenteeism.

Regards,

Sarah Watson.


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