Sickness, Lateness and Going AWOL During Probation

Managing lateness, sickness, and unauthorised absences during probation can be a challenge for many businesses.

So when Thornden asked our Community of industry professionals for advice on handling these situations:

“We have a probation period of three months for new advisors, during which we monitor quality, lateness, and sickness. In some cases, we extend probation on a case-by-case basis. I am keen to find out what other businesses do with employees who are late or sick during probation.

Here are some examples:

• 5 instances of lateness in 3 months and 3 absences
• 4 instances of lateness in 3 months and 4 absences (1 AWOL)

In all cases, we follow a disciplinary procedure and may either dismiss the employee or extend probation. These individuals do not have performance issues, their stats are good, and their quality is excellent.

So, two questions:

• Should we extend probation for lateness, sickness, and unauthorised absence?
• Is there anything we can do at the recruitment stage to identify these potential issues?”

We wanted to share the responses with you

4 Ways to Manage Sickness, Lateness and Going AWOL During Probation

1. Prioritise Attendance Over Performance

Many call centres prioritise attendance over KPIs. While performance issues can often be improved with training and motivation, frequent lateness or absences tend to reflect an employee’s attitude, except in cases with valid excuses. Maintaining strict attendance policies ensures reliability within the team.

Contributed by: Derek

2. Set Clear Probation Rules

Companies often enforce a six-month probation period with clear rules:

Being late or sick three or more times typically results in failing probation, though an extension of three months may be granted if performance is strong.

After probation, employees are expected to follow standard company policies, which usually allow no more than 14 sick days or five occurrences within a rolling 12-month period. Exceeding these limits may lead to an investigation and potential disciplinary action.

For agency staff, some organisations implement a “three strikes and you’re out” policy, where three instances of sickness or lateness result in termination. This approach has been shown to improve overall attendance.

Contributed by: Steve

3. Balance Flexibility With Accountability

If an employee has a valid reason for their absences, they should be given a fair chance. However, if the excuses are weak or attendance issues persist, it may be best to let them go.

Contributed by: Danny

4. Use Bradford Scoring to Track Absence

An effective tool for managing attendance is the Bradford Score, an equation used to track absence patterns. Many businesses link it to bonuses or incentives, making it a useful approach in performance-driven environments. If your company offers incentives, this method could help reduce absenteeism.

If you want to find our more on The Bradford Factor, read our article: The Bradford Factor – Improving Contact Centre Absenteeism

Contributed by: Tricia

This article was made possible due to the great community of experts we have at Call Centre Helper, to get involved just join our LinkedIn Community and and if you aren’t already make sure you are following us on LinkedIn to see our latest content.

For more on managing absence in the call centre, read these articles next:

• Get Sickness Under Control – 21 Management Tips
• An Action Plan for Dealing With Absenteeism
• 46 Tips for Managing Absence

Author: Jonty Pearce
Reviewed by: Hannah Swankie