Employer calls employee's emergency contact to ask if he can come into work: 'Employer just called my mom to ask if I'd come in, because I didn't answer. I'm 30 years old.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Feb 10, 2026 11:00 AM EST

Not answering your phone on your day off does not constitute an emergency. 

Who do you have listed as your emergency contact? I always feel conflicted, because I could either put my mom or my roommate. I usually choose my roommate because if something happens to me, he can attend to the situation immediately, whereas my mom cannot, since we don't live in the same city. At the same time, I feel like my mom should be the first one to know if I have a horrible accident. I figure that either of them would make fine emergency contacts, but there's only one problem. I don't think my mom and my roommate have each other's contact information. It's probably advisable for your parent and your emergency contact to be able to correspond. Would it sound too neurotic to create a group chat with them and me just in case something bad happens to me? It probably should be a "cross that road when you get there" kind of thing, but what do you think? 

Luckily, I've never been in such a compromised state that I needed to call my emergency contact. There are very few situations that require such a call. If you're too sick or injured to get yourself home from work, your boss should call your emergency contact. It's all in the name. Unless there is an emergency, there is no reason to call someone's emergency contact. That's just common sense.

Advertisement
  • Man on phone writing in notebook at desk
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The boss in this story clearly doesn't know the definition of "emergency." He wanted to ask his employee if he could come in on his day off, and the employee didn't answer the phone. Instead of calling somebody else who could come into the office, he called his employee's mom, who happens to be his emergency contact.

  • Is it normal or professional to call an employee's emergency contact to ask if they can come in?

    Day off. Employer just called my mom to ask if I'd come in, because I didn't answer.
    via u/Abject-Variation-547
  • I'm 30 years old...
    via u/Abject-Variation-547
  • Responsible-East1772 If someone is generally reliable, and they don't show up, I'm usually genuinely concerned for them. If it happens two days in a row, I'm definitely calling their emergency contact. Not to see "if they're coming in" but to make sure they're okay.
    via u/Responsible-East1772
  • Abject-Variation-547 Original Poster's Reply That's good. I haven't missed a day and it's my day off.
    via u/Abject-Variation-547
  • Wild_Chef6597 My employer had a police wellness check because I didn't keep my boss updated on if I was still sick throughout the day
    via u/Wild_Chef6597
  • Young woman laying in her bed taking her temperature
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • omgseriouslynoway Totally wrong and unprofessional.
    via u/omgseriouslynoway
  • chub70199 No! Scheduling issues are not an emergency. That is just poor planning by management.
    via u/chub70199
  • A paper calendar
    via Eric Rothermel

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • fishbutt1 Nope. It's for emergencies only like you passed out at work. What is this job?
    via u/fishbutt1
  • watermelonsugar888 That seems pretty inappropriate but idk how others do it. If you weren't scheduled, and they didn't have a reasonable basis for thinking you're in danger or something's wrong, and wanting to do a wellness check, it seems very inappropriate.
    via u/watermelonsugar888
  • VFiddly No. An emergency contact should only be used for emergencies. "You're not at work and we want you to come in" is not an emergency.
    via u/VFiddly
  • ViewDifficult2428 That's a notification to HR right there.
    via u/ViewDifficult2428
  • Turbulent Detail4467 This is such a boundary violation and you had better stand up for yourself and let them know or it will continue and/or get worse.
    via u/Turbulent_Detail4467
  • LSBRSLMO That's bad. Very bad. Your boss is 100% unprofessional and that behavior needs to be corrected asap.
    via u/LSBRSLMO

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

boss contacts day off emergency job call work availability mom parents
Scroll Down For The Next Article