How to Handle a No Call / No Show Employee

Quick Answer: When an employee is a no call / no show, attempt contact immediately, document every attempt, adjust coverage, and apply your written attendance policy consistently. Before issuing formal discipline, assess whether the absence might be protected under FMLA, ADA, or state leave laws. Here's the full step-by-step process.

It’s 9:15am. An employee was due in at 8:30. No call, no text, no email. You’ve tried their phone. Nothing.

This is one of the most common and most awkward situations in small business HR. And how you handle it matters more than most managers realize, both for the specific situation and for the precedent it sets with the rest of your team. Attendance and job abandonment policies like this are already written into our Small Business Employee Handbook Template.

Here is a clear process for handling no call / no shows professionally, legally, and consistently.

Step 1: Attempt Contact

Before drawing any conclusions, make a genuine effort to reach the employee. Call their mobile phone. Try a secondary contact if you have one. If they have an emergency contact on file and you have real reason for concern about their wellbeing, it is appropriate to attempt that contact as well.

Document every attempt: the time you called, the method, and the outcome. This record matters if the situation escalates.

Give this process a defined window, typically 30–60 minutes from the scheduled start time before you move to the next step. You cannot wait indefinitely. If the employee was present earlier in the day and left without notice, that is a different situation. See our guide on what to do when an employee walks off the job.

Step 2: Notify the Manager and Adjust for Coverage

Once you have made reasonable contact attempts without success, notify the relevant manager (if you are not already the manager) and begin making coverage arrangements. The business has to function. Document who made the coverage decision and how the shift or workload was redistributed. This matters for pay and scheduling records.

Step 3: Apply Your Written Policy

This is where having a written attendance policy becomes critically important. Your policy should define what constitutes a no call / no show, how many occurrences trigger different levels of disciplinary response, and whether two or more consecutive no call / no show days are treated as a voluntary resignation.

The “two consecutive no call / no show = voluntary resignation” provision is common and defensible, but it must be in your written policy before you apply it. A voluntary resignation also triggers questions about final pay and PTO payout. See our guide on what happens to PTO when an employee quits without notice: the same rules apply. You cannot inform an employee they have “voluntarily resigned” based on a policy that was not communicated to them in advance.

If you do not have a written attendance policy, this situation is the clearest possible sign that you need one. You are now making a judgment call with no documented standard to point to, which is the position you want to avoid.

Step 4: When the Employee Returns

When the employee does eventually make contact or return to work, do not let the conversation be informal. Have a documented meeting that covers:

•       What happened. Get the employee’s explanation in their own words.

•       Whether the absence qualifies for any protected leave (FMLA, ADA, state leave laws). This matters and must be assessed before any discipline is issued.

•       The disciplinary action being taken per your attendance policy

•       What is expected going forward

Document this meeting in writing and have the employee acknowledge it. If the explanation involves a medical situation, a family emergency, or anything that might trigger protected leave obligations, loop in HR before taking any disciplinary action.

The Protected Leave Issue

This is the most important legal consideration in no call / no show situations and the one most small businesses miss.

The FMLA, the ADA, state family and medical leave laws, and other statutes may protect an employee’s absence even when the employee failed to call in advance. An employee who had a medical emergency, a serious health episode, or a situation involving a family member’s serious illness may have rights that override your attendance policy.

This does not mean you cannot discipline or eventually terminate for attendance, but it does mean you need to ask the right questions before you do. “Was this absence related to a medical condition or a family member’s medical condition?” is a question that must be asked before discipline is issued for a no call / no show that might have a protected reason behind it.

When in doubt, consult HR or employment counsel before issuing formal discipline for an absence that might have a protected basis.

What Your Policy Should Say

A strong attendance policy covers the following no call / no show scenarios explicitly:

•       What constitutes a no call / no show, typically failing to notify a manager before the scheduled start time

•       The disciplinary escalation path for a first, second, and third occurrence

•       The consecutive no call / no show provision and what it triggers

•       The process for returning to work after an unexcused absence

•       The interaction between your attendance policy and protected leave laws

That last point (the interaction with protected leave) is what most free templates skip and what creates the most legal exposure when small businesses apply their attendance policies without considering whether a protected reason was involved.

Consistency Is Everything

However you handle a no call / no show, handle it the same way every time, for every employee. The fastest path to a discrimination claim is applying your attendance policy strictly to some employees and leniently to others. If two employees have the same number of no call / no show occurrences, they should receive the same disciplinary response.

Document every occurrence, every contact attempt, every disciplinary conversation. If a pattern of no call / no show ever becomes the basis for a termination, your documentation is what supports the decision. For a step-by-step guide to handling that conversation, see our guide on how to conduct a termination meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a no call / no show? A no call / no show occurs when an employee fails to report to work at their scheduled time and does not notify their manager or employer in advance. Most attendance policies define this specifically, typically as failing to contact a supervisor before the scheduled start time, and establish a disciplinary escalation path for repeated occurrences.

Can I fire an employee for a no call / no show? Yes, in most cases, but proceed carefully. Before terminating for a no call / no show, you need to assess whether the absence might be protected under the FMLA, ADA, or applicable state leave laws. An employee who had a medical emergency may have protected leave rights even if they failed to call in. Ask about the reason for the absence before issuing final discipline.

What does "two no call / no shows equals voluntary resignation" mean? Many attendance policies include a provision stating that two or more consecutive no call / no show days are treated as a voluntary resignation, meaning the employee is considered to have quit. This provision is common and defensible, but it must be in your written policy and communicated to employees before you apply it. You cannot apply a policy the employee was never told about.

Does FMLA protect a no call / no show absence? Potentially, yes. The FMLA may protect an employee's absence even when they failed to provide advance notice, particularly in cases involving a sudden medical emergency or a serious health condition. Before disciplining for a no call / no show, ask whether the absence was related to a medical condition or a qualifying family situation. When in doubt, consult HR or employment counsel before issuing formal discipline.

What should I document when an employee is a no call / no show? Document every contact attempt: the time, method, and outcome. Document how coverage was arranged. When the employee returns, document the return-to-work conversation, the employee's explanation, whether protected leave was assessed, and any disciplinary action taken. If the situation eventually leads to termination, this documentation is what supports the decision.

How many no call / no shows before termination? This depends entirely on your written attendance policy. Most small business policies treat a first occurrence as a verbal warning, a second as a written warning, and a third as grounds for termination, but you can structure it differently as long as it is documented, communicated, and applied consistently to all employees.

Get a Complete PTO & Attendance Policy Template

Our template includes attendance expectations, No Call / No Show definitions and escalation steps, absence type definitions, protected leave callouts, and manager guidance, fully formatted and ready to customize.

→  PTO & Attendance Policy Template — $35 | pragmatichrgroup.com

Editable Word document + PDF. Instant download. Created by a SHRM-SCP certified HR professional.

Have questions or want to learn more? Browse our full template library at pragmatichrgroup.com.