The acronym AWOL was once only used in military lingo. But it is now used extensively in almost all workplaces, to define a situation where an employee in missing without informing his or her supervisor. This acronym means absent without leave and when an employee is considered AWOL, well, the supervisor isn’t too happy!
And if you have found yourself in a situation when you took time off from work and failed to inform your supervisor, or obtain prior leave, you need to make sure that you apologize before any action is taken against you. Most companies have policies that dictate that you cannot take time off if you do not provide notice first. And if you do not comply, the company can take measures such as docking your salary or instituting disciplinary measures. You really don’t want to get into all that – apologize!
Your apology letter should have a polite tone and it should be able to clearly describe the circumstances that led you to take time off. Do not go into lengthy details of illnesses or family problems but do mention the actual reason. And make sure that you provide suggestions on how you can make up to the company. What follows is a sample apology letter for a situation such as this:
Sample Apology Letter for AWOL
Kyle Willis
6521 Polo Street
Magnolia, AR 20144
(000) 908-6743
Kyle @ email . com
June 30, 2016
Ms. Christine Bumper
Manager Sales
Rush Enterprises
3201 South Road
Magnolia, AR 00099
Dear Ms. Bumper:
Please accept my apologies for taking the last two days off from work without informing the office.
I had been in a road accident that happened while I was on my way to work on the morning of June 27, on the crossing of Deep Street and Maple Avenue. I was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state. Since I do not have any of my family members living in the city (and they did not find out about the accident until this morning when I regained consciousness), no one could contact the office on my behalf to let you know why I hadn’t come in.
I realize that I missed an extremely important conference yesterday and that I was the key attendee in it. Had circumstances been slightly different, I wouldn’t have missed it, come whatever! However, I intend to make up for lost time by putting in extra hours when I report back (hopefully in a week’s time), and will work from home from Monday, when I am discharged from the hospital.
As you are aware, I have always had Rush Enterprises’ best interests at heart and I am sure that you will take my condition and circumstances into consideration before taking any action.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Kyle Willis
Sales Associate
Rush Enterprises