What To Do When an Employee Doesn’t Show Up For Work In Australia

When you run a small business, every shift matters. So when an employee doesn’t show up for work with no warning, it can quickly turn into a stressful mix of operational disruption, customer complaints, and uncertainty about what you can legally do next.

Do you treat it as a simple misunderstanding? Is it a disciplinary issue? Could it be “abandonment of employment”? Should you pay them for the shift they missed? And what if it keeps happening?

The good news is you can manage “no shows” in a way that protects your business and stays compliant with Australian workplace laws. Below, we’ll walk through a practical, step-by-step approach you can follow when an employee doesn’t show up for work, including what to document, what to say, and when to escalate.

Why Employees Don’t Show Up (And Why Your First Step Matters)

Before you jump to disciplinary action, it’s worth remembering that an employee not showing up for work can happen for many reasons, including:

• a genuine emergency (illness, accident, family crisis)
• miscommunication about rosters or shift changes
• mental health issues or burnout
• transport breakdowns
• a deliberate “no show” (including disengagement or avoidance)
• confusion about whether they were actually required to attend (common with casuals)

Your first step matters because your response can affect whether the issue becomes a quick fix or escalates into a legal risk (for example, unfair dismissal claims, adverse action allegations, or wage disputes).

In general, it’s best to start from a position of clarity and safety: confirm the employee is okay, confirm expectations, and then move into process if needed.

Step-By-Step: What To Do Immediately When an Employee Doesn’t Show Up

If an employee doesn’t show up for work, you’ll usually want to act quickly. Here’s a practical sequence you can follow.

1. Check Your Records First (Roster, Messages, Shift Changes)

Before contacting the employee, confirm:

• the shift date/time and location
• how the shift was communicated (roster app, email, SMS, paper roster)
• whether the shift was changed recently and whether the employee acknowledged the change
• any prior arrangement (swap, leave request, agreed time off)

This is especially important if your roster changes are frequent, or you employ casual staff with variable shifts.

2. Contact The Employee (Keep It Calm And Practical)

Try a simple escalation approach:

• Call first (it’s fastest and can confirm safety).
• If no answer, send an SMS asking them to contact you urgently.
• If still no response, email a brief “please contact us” message.

Keep your tone neutral. At this stage, you don’t know whether it’s a legitimate emergency or misconduct.

3. Make A Quick Operational Plan

While you’re trying to reach them, you’ll also need to protect the business:

• call in a replacement (if possible)
• adjust workloads or prioritise essential tasks
• consider temporarily reducing services (for example, limited menu, fewer bookings)
• document the operational impact (e.g. customer cancellations, overtime required)

If you’re changing other employees’ shifts on short notice, make sure your approach aligns with your rostering obligations and any applicable award or agreement. (If you’re unsure, this is a good time to review your process for legal requirements for employee rostering.)

4. Start A Written Record Straight Away

Even if the matter resolves quickly, you should record:

• the shift they missed
• your attempts to contact them (time/date, method)
• any explanation given (and when)
• what coverage you arranged
• any previous similar incidents

This record becomes very important if the issue repeats and you later need to manage performance, issue warnings, or end employment.

Do You Have To Pay Someone Who Didn’t Turn Up?

This is one of the most common questions small business owners ask when an employee doesn’t show up for work.

Often, if the employee does no work, they won’t be paid for that missed time. But pay outcomes can depend on the circumstances and any applicable award, enterprise agreement, or contract. Important exceptions and grey areas include:

• Paid leave: If they were unwell and meet the requirements for paid personal/carer’s leave (for permanent employees), they may be entitled to paid leave.
• Minimum engagement / cancellation rules: Some awards or enterprise agreements have rules about minimum shift payments, rostering, or short-notice cancellation. These can be especially relevant for casuals.
• Your own error: If your rostering system was unclear or you changed the shift without adequate notice, you may end up in a dispute about whether they were actually required to attend.

If the employee later provides medical evidence, you may also need to treat the absence as a leave issue rather than misconduct. Many employers build this into their policies so expectations are clear (for example, when evidence is required, and what type is acceptable). If you’re dealing with an absence explanation, it may help to understand sick days without a certificate and how evidence can work in practice.

Because pay entitlements can be award-specific, it’s worth getting advice if you’re not confident which instrument applies to your employee.

How To Follow Up: Conversations, Evidence, And Procedural Fairness

Once you’ve made contact (or the employee gets in touch later), the next step is to move from “urgent operational response” to “workplace management process”.

Ask For An Explanation (And Give A Reasonable Chance To Respond)

You can ask questions like:

• “What happened that stopped you from attending your shift?”
• “When did you first realise you couldn’t make it?”
• “Why weren’t you able to notify us earlier?”
• “Do you have any supporting documents (if relevant)?”

This isn’t just good management practice - it also supports procedural fairness if you later need to take disciplinary action. In simple terms, procedural fairness means you give the employee a fair opportunity to understand the issue and respond before consequences are imposed.

Decide Whether It’s Leave, Performance, Or Misconduct

Not every “no show” is the same. Common categories include:

• Leave-related: A genuine illness or emergency that should be treated as personal/carer’s leave (if eligible), or unpaid leave (if not eligible).
• Performance/behaviour: Poor communication, lack of reliability, failure to follow call-in procedures.
• Misconduct: A deliberate failure to attend with no reasonable excuse, especially if repeated or combined with dishonesty.

Getting this classification right matters because it affects what disciplinary steps are reasonable, and what risks you face if you terminate employment.

Request Evidence If Appropriate (But Be Consistent)

If the employee says they were sick or dealing with a medical issue, you may be entitled to request evidence. The key is to have a consistent policy so employees know what’s expected.

Evidence may include a medical certificate, or sometimes a statutory declaration (depending on your policy and circumstances). If the employee offers a declaration, it’s helpful to know what that usually looks like in practice (for example, statutory declaration for sick leave).

If the issue involves a longer health-related absence or recurring absences, you may also need to consider whether you can request clearance before they return. This can be a sensitive area, so it’s worth understanding when employers can request medical clearance to return to work.

When It Becomes A Pattern: Warnings, Policies, And Managing Repeated No-Shows

A one-off employee not showing up for work is usually manageable. The bigger risk is when it becomes a pattern - especially if it impacts customers, causes other staff to work overtime, or creates safety concerns.

Use Your Policies (Or Create Them If You Don’t Have Them)

If you have a staff handbook or workplace policy, check what it says about:

• attendance and punctuality
• who the employee must notify, and by when
• acceptable reasons for absence
• evidence requirements
• disciplinary consequences for unapproved absences

If you don’t have these policies documented, it’s a good time to put them in place. Clear rules reduce misunderstandings and give you a stronger position if you need to take action later.

It also helps to ensure your core contracts reflect expectations. For example, your Employment Contract should clearly set out duties around attendance, communication, and compliance with policies.

Issue Warnings Where Appropriate (And Document Them)

If the absence was not approved and not reasonably explained, you may decide to issue a warning. Your warning process should be:

• specific: identify the shift missed and what policy/procedure was breached
• fair: summarise the employee’s explanation and why it wasn’t accepted (if that’s the case)
• forward-looking: clearly state the expected behaviour going forward
• transparent: outline consequences if it happens again

A warning is not about “catching someone out”. It’s about setting expectations, giving the employee a clear chance to improve, and protecting your business through a defensible paper trail.

Be Careful With Casual Employees And Shift Allocations

If your team includes casuals, “no show” issues can be trickier because casual employment is often based on offered and accepted shifts.

That means your first question is often: was the shift clearly offered and clearly accepted? If a casual employee disputes whether they were actually rostered, you may need to look closely at your communications and processes.

It can also help to ensure you understand cancellation and notice expectations for casual shifts, especially if you frequently change rosters. For example, some businesses set clear rules around notice periods and shift changes to reduce disputes (including having a written shift cancellation policy).

Can You Treat It As Abandonment Of Employment Or Terminate Them?

This is where many small business owners feel stuck. On one hand, you need reliability. On the other, ending employment incorrectly can expose you to legal risk.

What “Abandonment Of Employment” Usually Means

“Abandonment of employment” is generally used to describe a situation where an employee is absent for a period and fails to respond to contact attempts, which may indicate they no longer intend to be employed. However, it’s risky to treat abandonment as “automatic resignation” without a clear process, because an employee may later argue they had a valid reason for not attending or responding.

A single missed shift is not always enough to confidently treat employment as abandoned. Usually, you’ll want to:

• attempt contact multiple times, using multiple channels
• give a clear written direction to contact you by a deadline
• ask the employee to confirm whether they intend to continue employment
• keep records of all steps taken

If there’s still no response, the next step is often to write to the employee stating that if you don’t hear from them by a final deadline, you may treat their employment as ended due to non-attendance and failure to communicate. This approach helps reduce the risk of later disputes, including unfair dismissal claims.

Termination: Focus On Process, Not Just Frustration

If an employee doesn’t show up for work and it’s serious or repeated, termination may be on the table. But what matters is whether you’ve handled it with a fair process, and whether the reason is valid in the circumstances.

As a practical approach, consider:

• the employee’s role and how critical attendance is
• whether they were warned previously
• whether they had a reasonable excuse (and evidence)
• their length of service and overall conduct history
• any relevant award or agreement processes

Also remember that termination can involve notice requirements, unless the circumstances justify summary dismissal. If you’re ending employment and paying out notice instead of having the employee work it, payment in lieu of notice is a common option, but it needs to be handled carefully to avoid underpayment issues.

If you’re considering termination, it’s often worth getting advice first, because the right approach depends on the employment type, the employee’s history, and the instrument that covers them (such as a modern award).

Key Takeaways

• When an employee doesn’t show up for work, start by confirming roster details, contacting them promptly, and documenting everything from the outset.
• Not every “no show” is misconduct - it may be a leave issue, a misunderstanding, or a genuine emergency, so give the employee a chance to respond before escalating.
• Pay obligations can depend on the circumstances, including whether leave applies and whether any award or agreement includes minimum engagement or cancellation rules.
• If no-shows become repeated, use a clear process: policies, written warnings, and consistent expectations to protect your business and reduce disputes.
• “Abandonment of employment” and termination can carry legal risk if mishandled, so focus on a fair process, proper documentation, and the correct notice/payment approach.
• Having a well-drafted Employment Contract and practical workplace policies makes it much easier to manage attendance issues confidently and compliantly.

If you’d like help managing an employee not showing up for work, updating your Employment Contract, or putting the right workplace policies in place, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.