An excessive absenteeism write up is the document a small employer reaches for when the absences have piled up, and it is the write-up most likely to fail, because excessive is an opinion unless the policy turned it into a number. Under a points policy it is a number: the threshold, and the reminder and warning totals below it. The write-up lists the absences with their points and the total against that number; the excessive absenteeism warning letter that follows states the line the employee has passed and what reaching the threshold means. This page works both on one employee, using the worked example this site uses throughout, with the free attendance points calculator on this site producing the totals they cite, with no account.
The number first: what makes absenteeism excessive under the policy
On this site's worked example an unexcused absence scores 1 point, a tardy 0.5 and a no-call 2, the threshold is 8 in a rolling twelve months, and the policy sets a reminder at 6. Excessive absenteeism is a total at or past the lines the policy names, and the write-up should say which line and by how much. An employee with six unexcused absences in the window is at 6, at the reminder line, with 2 points of room; the write-up cites that, not the word excessive. If the employer has no such number written down, the write-up should wait until the policy has one, because a write-up issued against an unwritten line is the one that gets withdrawn.
The excessive absenteeism write up, worked
Events: unexcused absences on the 9th of January, the 30th of January, the 17th of February, the 6th of March, the 27th of March and the 15th of April, 1 point each, reasons asked and recorded, none excused. Total: 6 points in the rolling twelve months against a threshold of 8; 2 points of room; 75% of the threshold used. Policy cited: attendance policy dated the 1st of January, paragraphs 2 and 3. Step: written warning at the reminder line. What crosses the line: two further absences, or one no-call. Signatures. The write-up is a table and four lines, and every figure in it came from the roll call and the calculator on this site; nothing in it describes the employee.
The excessive absenteeism warning letter, worked on the same employee
The warning letter is the write-up's consequence stated as a letter: the total of 6 against the threshold of 8, the reminder line passed, the policy's statement that employment ends at 8, the events that would reach it (two absences, one no-call, or one absence and two tardies), the notice rule that turns a would-be no-call into an absence at 1 point instead of 2, and the employer's step, a written warning. It is issued with the write-up or after it, cites the same policy version, and is filed against the employee so the final warning, if it comes, can cite both. RollCallWorks Pro drafts the letter from the record it keeps.
Before either document: the absences that are never excessive
Six absences that include two weeks of leave protected under the FMLA are four countable absences and a total of 4, and a write-up that says 6 is the write-up that fails. Leave under the FMLA, absences that are a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and service absences under USERRA are held at zero with their reasons; the Department of Labor's and the EEOC's pages linked below describe each. Both documents should carry the reason column so the record shows the question was asked, and the total each states should be the countable total the calculator on this site produces with excused events at zero.
Questions people ask about excessive absenteeism write up
What should an excessive absenteeism write up say?
The absences with dates, points and the reason recorded for each; the total in the rolling window against the threshold and the reminder line, with the room left; the policy version and paragraphs; the step; and signatures. It cites the number the policy names rather than the word excessive.
What is the difference between the write-up and the warning letter?
The write-up records the events and the total; the warning letter states the line passed, the consequence of reaching the threshold, what would reach it and what avoids it. One total can produce both, filed together against the employee.
How many absences count as excessive?
The count the policy's threshold and reminder line imply: on this site's worked example, six unexcused absences in twelve months reach the reminder line at 6 and eight reach the threshold. Protected absences are held at zero and never counted. The free points calculator shows the countable total.