My Employee is in Prison - How Do I Handle It?

“We have an employee who has recently been arrested and charged with a criminal offence after becoming involved in an altercation outside a bar during the festive period. The employee is currently remanded in custody, awaiting trial and is therefore unable to fulfil their work duties. We are understaffed as it is and do not know how we are going to manage with one less employee on the team. How should we approach this?"

In circumstances where an employee is in prison, various difficulties arise for employers, the most evident being that the employee is unavailable for work. Despite operational difficulties, there is also a risk that as an employer you/the business could face reputational