What To Do When An Employee Doesn't Show Up For A Shift

You've got customers waiting, the shift has started, and one of your team members hasn't shown up. No text. No call. No heads-up. Now you're scrambling to cover their spot while trying to keep everything running smoothly. It happens to every manager at some point, but knowing exactly what to do when an employee doesn't show up for a shift makes all the difference between controlled chaos and a complete meltdown. 

This guide walks you through the immediate steps to take, how to handle things after the shift, and what policies and tools can help prevent no-shows from derailing your day in the first place.

Quick answer: What to do when an employee doesn't show up for a shift

If an employee doesn't show up for a shift, your priority is to confirm their status, cover the shift, and document what happened — then follow your attendance policy.

Here's what to do right away:

1. Try to contact them immediately using multiple methods (call, text, app message)
2. Cover the shift using backup staff, on-call employees, or quick shift swaps
3. Document the absence, including when they were scheduled and your attempts to reach them
4. Follow up after the shift to understand what happened
5. Apply your attendance policy consistently across your entire team

Handling it calmly and consistently protects your team and helps prevent repeat no-shows.

What "not showing up for a shift" actually means

Before you can handle an employee not showing up for work, you need to be clear about what that actually means. Not every absence is the same, and treating them all identically creates confusion and resentment on your team.

• A no-call no-show happens when someone doesn't show up to work and doesn't contact you to explain why. This is different from calling out sick or requesting time off in advance. The "no-call" part matters because it leaves you without information and unable to plan.
• Being late isn't the same as not showing up, even if someone is very late. If they've communicated they're running behind, you at least know they're coming and can adjust accordingly.
• Ongoing absenteeism is a pattern of missing work over time. One absence is an incident. Multiple absences become a pattern that needs different handling.

Clear definitions help you document fairly, communicate consistently with your team, and apply consequences that make sense.

Step-by-step: What to do immediately

When someone doesn't show up for their shift, you need to act fast. Here's exactly what to do in the moment.

1. Wait a short grace period, then try to contact them

Don't panic the second the clock hits their start time. Give it five to ten minutes in case they're running slightly behind. But don't wait too long. Once it's clear they're not walking through the door, reach out immediately.

Call first — texts and app messages are easy to miss, especially if they're dealing with an emergency. If they don't pick up, leave a voicemail that's direct but not hostile. "Hey, it's [your name]. You were scheduled at [time] and you're not here. I need to know if you're coming or if something happened. Call me back right away."

2. Use multiple ways to reach them

One unanswered phone call isn't enough. Try calling twice, then follow up with a text message. If your team uses a scheduling app or workplace messaging tool, send a message there too.

Your follow-up text can be short: "Tried calling — are you okay? Need to know if you can make it in." Don't flood their phone with twenty messages, but do make a genuine effort across multiple channels. Later, when you're documenting what happened, you'll want to show you did everything reasonable to reach them.

3. Cover the shift as quickly as possible

While you're trying to reach the missing employee, you also need to cover their responsibilities right now. Your customers and your other team members can't wait around while you play phone tag.

Start with your internal coverage options. Can you or another manager jump in temporarily? Is there someone already working who can extend their shift or take on extra duties?

Next, look at shift swaps and backup staff. If you have employees who've expressed interest in picking up extra hours, now's the time to reach out. Send a group message to available team members asking who can help. Tools like Homebase let you post open shifts instantly so your team can claim them without you making desperate phone calls to everyone individually.

The goal is to minimize disruption for your customers and keep things fair for the teammates who did show up.

4. Document what happened

Once the immediate crisis is handled, write everything down while it's still fresh. Document the time they were scheduled to work, when you first noticed they weren't there, and every attempt you made to contact them. Note who ended up covering the shift and any impacts on operations.

Keep it factual and neutral. "Scheduled 2:00 PM, not present at 2:10 PM. Called twice, texted once at 2:15 PM. No response. Sarah covered 2:30-6:00 PM shift." You don't need to editorialize or guess at motives. Just record what you know.

What to do when an employee misses work: After the shift

Once the immediate fire is out and the shift is covered, it's time for the follow-up conversation.

Reach out with context, not assumptions

When you finally connect with the employee who missed their shift, start by asking what happened before jumping to conclusions. "You were scheduled today at [time] and didn't show up. I tried reaching you several times. What happened?" Give them space to explain without making them feel attacked right out of the gate.

Decide if it's excused or unexcused

Not all absences are equal. You need to decide whether the absence counts as excused or unexcused based on your policies and the circumstances.

Generally, excused absences include:

• Serious illness or injury
• Family emergencies
• Circumstances truly beyond their control

Unexcused absences are everything else:

• Overslept or forgot to set an alarm
• Decided not to come in
• Just didn't feel like working

Here's a short example of what to say for an unexcused no-show: "I understand you overslept, but not calling or texting left us scrambling to cover your shift. That impacts the whole team. According to our attendance policy, this counts as an unexcused absence. If this happens again, there will be further consequences."

Apply your policy consistently

Whatever you decide, make sure you're treating everyone the same way. Consistency isn't just about being fair, it protects you legally and builds trust with your team.

When a no-show becomes a bigger issue

One missed shift is an incident. Multiple missed shifts become a pattern that needs different handling.

Recognizing patterns vs. isolated incidents

A reliable employee who has one no-call no-show in two years deserves the benefit of the doubt. An employee who's had three in two months is showing you a pattern.

Look at the bigger picture beyond just no-shows:

• Are they frequently late?
• Do they call out at the last minute regularly?
• Are they trading shifts constantly?

Sometimes employee absenteeism shows up in smaller ways before it becomes a full-blown no-show problem.

Repeated no-call no-shows

If someone keeps skipping work without calling, you need a formal conversation that includes clear consequences. "This is your third no-call no-show. We've talked about this before. The next time this occurs, we'll need to consider termination." Put it in writing, have them acknowledge it, and follow through if it happens again.

When it might count as job abandonment

Job abandonment happens when an employee stops showing up entirely without formally resigning or communicating. Most commonly, this means multiple consecutive no-call no-shows — often three or more shifts in a row — with no response to attempts to reach them.

This is different from an employee who walks out mid-shift. A walkout is immediate. Job abandonment happens over time through repeated absences.

Attendance policies every small business should have

You can't enforce a policy you don't have. And you can't have an effective policy if no one knows what it says. Here's what your attendance policy needs to cover.

Why written policies matter

A clear, written attendance policy isn't bureaucracy for its own sake — it's protection for everyone involved. Your team knows exactly what's expected of them and what happens if they don't meet those expectations. You know exactly how to respond consistently when issues come up. Nobody's left guessing or making up rules on the fly.

Written policies also create a paper trail if you need to terminate someone for attendance issues. Courts and unemployment offices want to see that you had clear rules, communicated them, and applied them fairly. "We fired them because they never showed up" is a lot weaker than "Our written policy says X, they violated it three times despite warnings, and here's the documentation."

It doesn't need to be a legal dissertation. Plain language works better anyway. The goal is clarity, not complexity.

What to include in a no-call no-show policy

Your policy should answer these basic questions:

• How do employees need to call out? Who do they contact, and by when? Is a text okay, or do they need to call? What if they can't reach a manager directly — can they leave a voicemail? Be specific so there's no confusion about what "properly calling out" means.
• What are the consequences? Spell out what happens after one no-call no-show, two, three. Many businesses use progressive discipline: verbal warning, written warning, final warning, termination. Whatever your approach, make it clear upfront.
• What counts as an excused vs. unexcused absence? Give examples. Medical emergencies, family emergencies, jury duty — these are generally excused. Oversleeping, forgot to check the schedule, personal appointments that could have been scheduled differently — these are generally unexcused.
• How are absences tracked? Let employees know you're keeping records and they can ask about their attendance status. Tools that centralize time-off requests make this easier because everything's in one place instead of scattered across sticky notes and text messages.

Training managers to apply policies consistently

Having a policy means nothing if your managers don't enforce it the same way. Train everyone who handles scheduling and attendance issues on what the policy says and how to apply it.

Role-play common scenarios: What do you do when someone texts five minutes before their shift? When someone no-shows but had a legitimate emergency? When it's the third time this month? Practice helps managers respond consistently instead of making emotional, in-the-moment decisions.

Check in regularly to make sure policies are being followed. If one manager lets no-shows slide while another writes people up immediately, your team will notice and trust will erode fast.

How to reduce no-shows in the future

Dealing with no-shows is necessary, but preventing them in the first place is better. Here's how to cut down on employee absenteeism before it starts.

Make schedules clear and accessible

Post schedules in the same place every time, well in advance, and make sure everyone can access them easily. Digital schedules solve a lot of problems that paper schedules create:

• Nobody can claim they didn't see the schedule if it's on their phone
• Nobody has to come into work on their day off just to check next week's shifts
• Updates happen instantly instead of requiring someone to cross out and rewrite the paper version

When you publish or update a schedule, make sure your team gets notified immediately.

Send automatic shift reminders

People forget things. Even the most reliable employee occasionally loses track of a shift, especially if they work an irregular schedule or have multiple jobs. Automated reminders via text or app notification eliminate the "I totally forgot" excuse.

A reminder the day before and a reminder an hour or two before the shift starts catches almost everyone before they miss work.

Make communication easy

Your team needs to be able to reach you — and each other — quickly when something comes up. Built-in team messaging means work conversations stay in one place instead of getting lost in personal text threads.

Employees can coordinate shift coverage themselves when life happens, and you maintain oversight without micromanaging every swap. When someone can quickly say "I need to leave early Friday, can anyone cover the last two hours?" and get an instant answer, you avoid last-minute surprises.

Let employees flag issues before the shift starts

Sometimes people can see problems coming. If it's easier to flag these issues ahead of time than to just not show up, you'll get advance warning instead of day-of chaos.

Time-off requests built into your scheduling system create a clear process for employees to raise their hand before conflicts turn into no-shows. When requesting time off is as simple as tapping a button in an app, people actually do it instead of calling out at the last minute — or worse, not calling at all.

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Employees not showing up FAQs

Can you terminate an employee for not showing up to work?

Yes, you can terminate an employee for not showing up to work, especially if it's a repeated issue or a no-call no-show situation. Most employment is at-will, meaning you can fire someone for any legal reason. However, you should follow your written attendance policy and document everything. Firing someone after one unexplained absence with no prior issues might be legally allowed but could create problems with your team or unemployment claims. Progressive discipline — warnings before termination — protects you and shows you gave the employee a chance to improve.

Is not showing up for a shift the same as quitting?

Not automatically. If someone misses one shift without calling, they haven't necessarily quit — they might have had an emergency or made a mistake. Job abandonment, which might be considered quitting, typically requires multiple consecutive no-call no-shows with no response to your attempts to contact them. Usually three or more missed shifts with zero communication suggests they've abandoned the position. But even then, it's best to document your attempts to reach them and follow your company's policy before assuming they've quit.

How many no-call no-shows count as job abandonment?

Most companies consider three consecutive no-call no-shows as job abandonment, but this varies by company policy and state. Some businesses set the threshold at two days, others at five. What matters most is having a clear policy that defines it for your workplace. Job abandonment generally requires the employee to have completely stopped responding — not just missing shifts, but also ignoring calls, texts, and messages. Document all your attempts to contact them before classifying someone as having abandoned their job.

What if an employee doesn't show up on their first day?

If a new hire doesn't show up for their first shift, reach out the same way you would for any no-show: call, text, and try multiple channels. Sometimes new employees get confused about start times or locations. If you can't reach them, document your attempts and move on. First-day no-shows often mean the person accepted another offer or got cold feet. Don't waste too much time trying to salvage it — start looking for their replacement immediately. A candidate who ghosts you on day one would likely be an unreliable employee anyway.

Handle no-shows calmly (and plan for them)

When an employee doesn't show up for a shift, your response sets the tone for your entire team. Act quickly to cover the shift and document what happened, then follow your attendance policy consistently. No drama, no exceptions based on who you like better, no making it up as you go.

The best way to handle no-shows is to reduce how often they happen in the first place. Clear schedules, automatic reminders, and easy communication help your team stay on track without you constantly following up. When your scheduling and time tracking happen in one place, your team always knows when they're working, you get instant notifications about problems, and coordinating coverage doesn't mean spending your whole Sunday making phone calls.

Homebase brings scheduling, shift reminders, and team messaging into one app, so you can spend less time chasing down no-shows and more time running your business. Try it free.