Since the lady called the day before..twice.your concerns are groundless.
And please tell me the illness which would prohibit someone from reaching two feet to a phone?
If I have an employee that just doesn’t show up without calling they are automatically terminated. That’s just a blanket policy that many companies have. However if I were to later find out that a situation happened were they were completely unable to come to work or call I would almost certainly reinstate their employment.
I assure you that in this situation that is definately not the case. This was the final event in a long series of incidents. When I first came to this store she was the best employee I could possibly hope for. The meth has taken it’s toll on her and I was left with no choice. It’s really sad.
My hope is that being fired is a wake up call for her. I’m not holding my breath, but one can certainly hope for a good outcome can’t they?
I know it’s a big chain, so you may not have this option, but can you offer “go into counseling/drug treatment/leave the bastard and I’ll have an opening for you when you get back?” as an alternative to losing her job entirely? Just seems like losing her income is the last thing this girl needs right now, but I do understand you have a store to run.
I suspect being fired won’t be a wake up call, but further evidence to her that the world is against her and she’s a world class screw up who doesn’t deserve any better. 
Of all the pseudonyms, why Bess?
I, too, work for a major chain convenience store, and our policy is just a little more relaxed than that.
We generally use a “3 strikes and you’re out” kind of policy, but note it is 3 strikes of any kind: any three infractions that resulted in a written reprimand can lead to termination. Only very sever things like theft get you fired immediately.
However, we don’t have to fire fire people for no-sow/no-call problems: you’ll get a write-up if it happens, but … either it was a one-time thing ("I got a flat and my cell phone caught fire … ") or it happens a lot. One of the many forms they have you sign when you’re hired (and have the Manager explain to you) says that if you didn’t show up for three scheduled shifts in a row, and didn’t call, then you quit.
So we don’t have to fire them, because they quit.
Sorry about your assistant. I know what its like to have good solid people flake out on you because of crap in their personal lives. Glad she’s alive. I hope she gets some help, but she probably won’t. Not yet.
Really? Could you name a few? Other than acute viral highasakite.
Most places I’ve worked have similar policies, except it’s classified as a resignation, not a termination.
I think the question has been answered, but I need to add that it is never “cool” to fire anyone. It is, however, sometimes necessary.
I’ve heard there’s quite the epidemic of that. Damn anti-vaxxers …
There are a few, but highly unlikely in this case. Very low or very high blood sugar. A stroke or the residual effects of a stroke. Severe hypothyroidism or other endocrine disorders. Depression. Extreme morning sickness. Dehydration. Of the bunch, I’d bet on Depression.
For future reference:
I had to have the police do a welfare check on a coworker and friend of mine- he was regular like clockwork every single day to work (early in fact)- you know the guy. Literally ALWAYS there. One day he was late and missed work (we worked on a boat and he missed it) and I knew in my guts something was wrong. He had bipolar disorder. I wish this had a happy ending but it does not, he was found dead of a suicide.
I had my ex-husband first go check on him and when he couldn’t get him to answer the door (and saw his car and bike out front) I called the police. They said they could not do a welfare check on him for being late to work and that if he didn’t want to answer the door it was his right. I said that I understood that but really, I KNOW something is wrong, please please go check and as I was telling them what was up I said “he lives alone and he could have fallen in the shower or had a seizure or something…” just thinking out loud about the awful things that could have happened. The police officer interrupted me and said “Does he have a history of seizures?” and I said “YES” (which is not true, I’m sorry but I really knew something was wrong and was frantic to get someone to check on him) and BAM they were at his door within minutes and back on the phone with me, sadly, to break the news that he was gone.
So god forbid I ever have to ask for a welfare check again, I’m skipping the blah blah and saying that the person has a medical complication because that seemed to be the only reason they could physically break into his residence and look for him when he didn’t answer the door. Otherwise they were pretty content to basically say “Hey, he’s probably on a walkabout and all is well, stop worrying.”