The absence of an employee in the workplace is by no means always connected with his unfair attitude to his duties. Often, absenteeism can be explained by really objective reasons.
So, for example, when hiring an employer, an employer acquaints his employees with all local regulations governing work procedures, including shift schedules, orders for work on weekends or holidays. This is the employer's duty and if the employee, who has not been familiarized with such documents against signature, did not go to work on the appointed day, dismissal for absenteeism is unlawful. Often such situations arise when an employee leaves vacation, when his shift schedule is not yet available or he is not familiar with it.
During the employee's vacation, the address of the company may change or his direct workplace may be moved. But, if the employee was not warned about this and after the vacation he returned to the same place specified in the employment contract, such an employee did not commit truancy.
There are cases when the court obliges the employer to reinstate the employee at work. For this, an appropriate order is issued and if the employer has not notified the employee about the issuance of such an order, absenteeism cannot be considered absenteeism. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the order can be sent by mail, and then the employee must go to work the next day after receiving it, and this may be much later than the publication of the order for restoration, however, in this case there is no talk of absenteeism.
Dismissal for absenteeism will be illegal if the employer did not provide access to the workplace, for example, by changing the locks and not giving a duplicate key to the employee.
Also, it is not considered truancy if the employee does not fulfill his job duties if he was not allowed to work by the employer. Here it is necessary to consider the disciplinary offense that caused the refusal.
There is a judicial practice according to which it is impossible to dismiss an employee performing traveling work for absenteeism if he was absent from the office for several working days, because such absence is associated with the performance of his labor functions.
And finally, one more example of the legitimate absence of an employee at work: if the accrued wages are delayed for more than 15 days, the employee can notify the employer in writing about the suspension of the performance of the labor function and not go to work. In this case, the employee has the right not to leave until the debt is fully paid off.
