Why abandonment of employment is misunderstood

It's Monday. Your Project Coordinator hasn't turned up. No call, no text. By Wednesday, still nothing.

Many managers would read the silence as potential abandonment or even a resignation, especially if calls are not being answered. Yet acting on that instinct could cost an organisation up to $95,050 in unfair dismissal compensation.

What is abandonment of employment?

Being absent does not necessarily mean abandonment. This occurs when an employee:

• stops attending work,
• stops communicating with you, and
• shows no intention of returning.

All three elements need to be present for an employer to respond, and the last is open to interpretation. The Fair Work Commission generally treats ending employment for abandonment as a dismissal by the employer, not a resignation. This means unfair dismissal rules apply, so it’s important to get it right.

Australian employees are willing to test unfair dismissal complaints. They made up 37% of the 44,075 lodgements received by the Commission in 2024–25, up 10% on the year before. However, for dismissals since 1 July 2026, compensation has been capped.

How common is abandonment?

No official Australian dataset tracks abandonment. Yet feedback from employers suggests abandonment of employment is on the rise.

This aligns with an increase in the signs of disengagement. Research found that 8.3 million Australian workers took a "sickie" without being physically unwell. And 38% of business leaders report more new hires quitting during probation than before the pandemic.

However not every absence is abandonment, and that's the point.

Absence is not necessarily abandonment

An employee on leave, including personal leave, cannot have abandoned their job. The same goes for someone with a reasonable explanation, such as illness, injury, a family emergency or a workplace conflict they're avoiding.

Even without a reasonable explanation, the employer must manage the process carefully.

In Hyde-Nawell v Children's Rights Australia (2024), a part-time worker had a patchy attendance record. Between April and early June 2023, she was often unreachable and off sick for around two and a half weeks. Yet her medical certificate covered only two of those days. She returned for a shift on 6 June, but then missed her next shift on 8 June, so the employer decided she had abandoned her job. The following day, she says, she was told to resign rather than be terminated.

The Commission disagreed with the employer because she had worked two days earlier; one missed shift was not enough to indicate she intended to leave. Furthermore, the employer hadn't requested a meeting in writing or rostered her on again.

According to Commission findings, the employer had in fact ended the employment, so it was considered dismissal. Past behaviour was not considered because no actions were taken by the employer to address it, and the employee had worked a shift since.

This ruling indicates there is an expectation employers investigate, try to make contact and manage the process in line with company policies and employment law.

How to manage a potential abandonment situation

It is essential to acknowledge dismissal based on abandonment is not as simple as it seems. There are several actions required.

1. Check leave records. Confirm the employee isn't on approved or pending leave.
2. Check the award or agreement. Some include specific abandonment provisions.
3. Use every channel. Call, text, email and post. Record every attempt.
4. Send a formal abandonment letter. List the dates missed, ask for an explanation, set a reasonable deadline and explain that employment may end.
5. Weigh any response genuinely. A late medical certificate changes everything.
6. Decide and document. Record each step and your reasoning.
7. Terminate correctly. Confirm the decision in writing, pay final entitlements and meet unfair dismissal requirements.



You can't leave a role vacant forever. But a few extra days of documented effort costs far less than a Fair Work claim.

Dealing with a potential abandonment issue? Bayside Group can help you manage the process and fill the role. Enquire here or call Dean Sherriff for a confidential conversation on 0458 026 609.