Employee / Labor Relations

Job Abandonment

A Staff or out-of-unit Administration employee who is absent without authorization for three or more consecutive workdays may be considered to have abandoned his/her position. Refer to the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) Collective Bargaining Agreement for information regarding job abandonment for in-unit Administration employees.

Processing a Job Abandonment Action

After the third consecutive workday an employee is absent from work and fails to obtain approval for his/her absence, a notification of job abandonment should be sent by certified mail/return receipt requested to the employee at his/her last known address. The letter must be signed by the dean/director or designee. The supervisor must consult with Employee Relations (ER) in determining if the circumstances warrant the job abandonment notice.

The notification must include:

  • A termination date (typically the employee's third workday of unapproved absence at the close of business or the end of the employee's work shift),
  • Notice that the employee may request in writing reconsideration of the job abandonment action within seven calendar days from the certified mail postmark date or personal delivery date, if applicable, and
  • For Staff employees with regular status and out-of-unit Administration employees, notice of the employee's right to grieve through the university grievance procedure, or if applicable, collective bargaining agreement grievance procedure.

If the employee exercises the right to request reconsideration of the job abandonment action within the seven calendar-day period designated in the notification, the dean/director or designee should consult with ER and send a written decision to the employee by certified mail within seven calendar days from the date of the request.

An appointment status form must be submitted to HR/Employment Center to process the termination action, accompanied by a copy of:

  • The signed job abandonment notification,
  • Verification of the certified mail postmark date, and
  • The certified mail return receipt.

A copy of the signed notification must also be submitted to ER.

Refer to USF Policies on this topic.

Job Abandonment Notification Sample Format