It's All About People - 15th May 2025

READ TIME - 3 minute read

This came up with a client recently — a team member didn’t turn up for work and hadn’t been in touch. No message, no warning. Just silence. Even more worrying, the person lives alone.

It reminded me of a situation earlier in my career where someone working in HR went AWOL — no contact, no explanation. A colleague made the decision to visit their home, and tragically discovered that the person had passed away. It's something that has always stayed with me and underlines just how important it is to approach these situations with care and urgency.

We’ve talked recently about managing sickness absence and supporting returns to work. But sometimes, the absence is unexpected — and unexplained.

So what do you do when someone simply doesn’t show up?

Here’s a quick checklist:

🔹 Start with wellbeing, not warnings
Before jumping to conclusions, treat it as a welfare concern. Try to contact them by phone, text, or email. Check with colleagues — have they heard from them?

🔹 Check emergency contact details
Still no contact? You may need to call their next of kin. If you don’t have up-to-date emergency contact information on file — make it a priority to get this sorted for your team now.

🔹 Consider a home visit (yes, really)
If there are real welfare concerns — especially if the person lives alone — you may need to consider a home visit. This should be handled sensitively and ideally by someone they know. You could also call the police for a welfare check if you’re genuinely worried.

🔹 Record everything
Document all your attempts to get in touch. This protects you and supports any next steps, whether it turns into a disciplinary issue or a long-term absence situation.

🔹 Follow your policy – but with flexibility
Eventually, this may lead to formal action, especially if there's a pattern. But start with empathy. If it turns out something serious happened, your support will be remembered. If it didn’t… you’ve still done the right thing.

Best wishes,
Emma

P.S. There are SO many resources in the HR Hub to help with all aspects of absence management, if you are not yet an HR Hub member then why not try it free for a month here.

P.P.S. Perhaps you know that absence is an issue in your organisation and you need a bit more help from our HR team. If that is you then why not try our Peace of Mind service for a one month trial, you can sign up here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks (click on the links to join us)

^{HR Clinic - FREE to all. 11th June 12-1pm}

^{Lunch & Learn: Settlement Agreement Made Simple - free to all clients, £35+VAT for non-clients). 25th June 12-1pm}

🎥 Coming Soon: Free Webinar Invitation! Later in May, I’ll be releasing a free webinar all about managing sickness absence — understanding the real costs, reducing absenteeism, and preparing for the 2026 changes.
If you'd like me to send you the webinar link when it's ready, just click here to register your interest.

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