UNAUTHORIZED ABSENTEEISM
By Faudzil Harun
By Faudzil Harun
Damages and Losses Caused by Unauthorized Absence
It is well established that an employee has a duty to his employer to be diligent in his work.
The employee
who stays away from work without the permission of his employer and without
reasonable excuse is guilty of a breach of this duty. Unauthorized absence
causes negative impact to the business as it is affecting the whole working
community as follows :
Damages
1. Upsets the working schedule, disrupt operation/services at the place of
employment.
2. Brings down productivity and quality of service.
3. Compels the employer to resort to measures that can affect other employees.
4. Other employees coaxed to take on the duties of the absentee.
5. Increase the cost of production.
Losses
1. The real cost of absenteeism then is lowered morale among other employees
who must shoulder the work load caused by shortage of people.
2. Loss of revenue from sales not made.
3. Loss of customers who flee to competitor for better service.
4. Wages for additional workers or for payment of overtime work.
Thus, absenteeism is a costly and disruptive problem and places unnecessary
pressure on employees that are at work.
In I/C Award 55/80 - National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing
Rubber Products v Goodyear (M) Sdn Bhd, the Industrial Court in upholding
the dismissal of a workman for being absent on one day ruled that : “Absence
from work on that day, taken together with his aggregate record of attendance
in 1979, confirmed a pattern of behavior e.g. showing no concern to notify the
urgency of his leaves early enough to enable a suitable replacement to be
found. Such indifference is a refusal to obey Company’s procedure regulating
application for leave.”
In I/C Award 110/92 – Syarikat Telekom Malaysia v Veeran
a/l Gopal, the employee was dismissed for absence from
16/4/90 to 19/4/90. He was on medical leave for a day on 16/4/90 but he failed
to inform his employer of his absence until the evening of 18/4/90. The
employer issued the workman a show cause letter for his absence and sought his
explanation as to why he should not be dismissed for failing to inform or
attempting to inform the employer of any reasonable excuse for his absence. The
employer was not satisfied with the explanation and dismissed him. The court upheld
the dismissal as the employee failed to prove that he was permitted by the
company to be absent from work during the period.
Main Causes for Absenteeism
While there is no consistently uniform causes for absenteeism, there are 3 broad categories and prevalent causes :
1. Business Practices
● Management style.
● Poor working environment.
● Irregular flow of work.
● Ineffective selection and placement of employees.
● Ineffective use of skills.
● Poor information, instruction and supervision.
● Inadequate training, coaching and counseling.
● Excessive fatigue.
● Ineffective grievance handling, etc.
2. Community Facilities
Perhaps there is not adequate housing rates your employees can afford to pay
or the workplace area may lack of public transport, shopping facilities. The
community may also lack of other services often taken for granted, such as late
banking hours, nurseries, clinics etc.
3. Personal Situations
● Individual or family illness.
● Personal commitment.
● Active participation in personal activities.
● Alcoholism
● Drug abuse
● Gambling habits, etc.