A worker who resigns must give notice, and you still owe their final pay and any unused leave. A worker who simply stops coming, called abandonment, cannot be treated as resigned straight away. You have to make reasonable attempts to reach them and give them a chance to explain before you end the job, or you risk an unfair-dismissal claim. AskMandla guides both.
When a worker resigns
The worker gives you notice, the same length you would give them. You still owe their wages up to the last day and any unused leave paid out. There is no severance on a resignation. We prepare the UI-19 so they can still claim from UIF if they qualify.
When a worker just stops coming
It is tempting to treat someone who disappears as having resigned, but the law does not see it that way. Before you end the job, you should:
- Try to contact them through every number you have, and keep a record of your attempts.
- Give them a fair chance to explain, in case there is an emergency or a hospital stay behind it.
- Only then, if there is no reasonable explanation, end the job through a fair process.
How AskMandla helps
We guide the steps, keep the record of your attempts to make contact, write the letters, and work out the final pay, so that ending the job holds up if it is ever questioned.