No-show
Also called: no call no show
A no-show is a scheduled employee who neither turns up nor tells anyone. It is distinct from calling in sick, which is an absence you were given the chance to plan around.
Why the distinction matters
A sick call at 06:00 costs you a phone round. A no-show costs you the first hour of service before anyone realises. Treating both as simply absence hides the problem that actually needs fixing.
What usually causes them
Genuine emergencies are rarer than confusion. The most common cause is someone not knowing they were on: the rota changed after they last looked, or the swap they arranged was never confirmed. Fix the visibility of the schedule and a share of no-shows disappears.
Handling the rest
A written rule applied consistently — how to report, by when, and what happens after repeats — is worth more than a strict rule applied when the manager is annoyed. Attendance point systems exist to make that consistency mechanical.