Furious at ds work dismissal

on time = 5 minutes early

No one told him it was ok to be late everyday , that’s ridiculous, they were probably waiting for him to show some initiative and get the earlier train.
you should have advised him , haven’t you ever worked ?

Do you know he had not agreed the holiday before starting? I had holiday booked and I took it during probation but I told my employer during interview and said it was non-negotiable and they were fine. Don't know why it's been assumed the employer was unaware of the holiday

Um no I didn't actually, ive already put I asked him if he got in on time and that's when he told me they were ok as they knew he was getting the train

From what you’ve described, OP, it sounds like there were crossed wires or a misunderstanding from one or both sides. If an employee said to me, “I might be a few minutes late because I’m getting the train”, I would assume they meant because the train might be late sometimes. Even if I didn’t assume that, I’d think “the train” meant there was only one train he could get, which, annoyingly got him in a few minutes late for work.

I suspect that they weren’t over-impressed with him taking a holiday so soon, chatted a bit about him while he wasn’t there, and talked about his lateness “because he had to get the train” - and then someone checked and saw there was an earlier train he could get. They then contacted him to tell him to get this earlier train. Perhaps some kind person even thought there was a technical reason he couldn’t get the earlier train, so they asked him to, waiting to see what he said and did.

He then got the earlier train, as they asked, and got to work on time - thus proving to his employer that he could have done that all along.

If you make a big fuss it might reflect on future employment, it may be brought up in interviews if a compliant goes on record? At the moment they might still give him a half decent reference for character and other aspects of the job? If the time keeping is brought up in future interviews he can say he learned a strong lesson with the dismissal, and he needs to be sure to turn up 10 to 15 minutes EARLY for the interview!

It is harsh lesson. He should have made the decision to get the earlier train before it had to be brought to his attention.
You never know what the boss is thinking, just because they don’t pull you up the first few times.
Hopefully he finds something else.

I can see why he was dismissed! Imagine if the whole team turned up late because they couldn't get a train to work on time?

I find in this age group misunderstandings occur around what is considered normal work practise as they don't have lived experience. They likely thought he was telling them he was a few minutes late due to train but he would normally be on time. He likely thought he was telling them his train made him late everyday and they were saying that was OK.
My son is lovely and at a Russel Group uni so reasonably smart ... but he is quite literal and I could see him unfortunately making the same mistake until someone explained things to him.

I had an employer like this. I was not client facing and always came in a bit after my start time (like all the employees).

However I had had a falling out with one of the partners so he decided to have my manager warn me about my timekeeping. I always stayed late mind to help with whatever needed doing. When I told my manager that I always stay late I was told "we don't ask you to".

I said she was right and from that day on - I always arrived early early....and left exactly at my end time.

They really didn't like that either but I used their own argument against them so they couldn't say much about it.

I’d say it’s the other way round unless your office or admin and even then they’ll be a need to be present at the start and finish time exactly

Really? Is this just an automatic reflex whenever a sacking is mentioned no matter the details?

That said - on a separate note. If trains are always a problem he should be targeting the train ahead of the one he gets. That way he is not cutting it fine.

I rely on the train and have done for 30 years and have always got one that gets me in before my start time even if that means being a bit too early. I’ll get a coffee etc before I start. I can’t understand not doing that! Next job tell him to be on time.

Well this went well didn't it

Definitely seek advice. He may still be in probation but if not then there is a set process to get rid of somebody.

Also I hate employer's that are inflexible like this. Is he customer facing?

I suspect, OP, that as he had just started no one actually addressed his lateness every day and he interpreted that as them being okay with it. He informed them of his holiday at what point? If it was once he'd started rather than beforehand then you can perhaps see how things start stacking up. If he also wasn't picking up the work as expected then it may have made sense for them to dismiss him.

"I have a high functioning team who are all trusted to be flexible and provide more than required outputs"

Yes, all probably many years experience and happy to pick up extra work and maybe WFH/come in at short notice when required? Completely different to a brand new entry level trainee who is late every day and makes their holiday a priority in the first month!

And there is a possibility that someone else in the workplace lived near to the OP, caught the train on the same route, but critically always got in on time.

Why wasn't he always getting the earlier train?

I’m afraid I echo everyone else OP, it’s a life lesson for him. My daughter (17) works in our next village, literally 7 minutes by car. But she can’t drive yet and therefore has to get the bus. There is no direct busses between the villages, so she has to bus to town, and then bus to the next village. It takes just over an hour and she arrives exactly 23 minutes early for her shift every time. She gets inside, ties her hair up, washes her hands etc. The later bus would see her arrive 15 minutes late, so is never an option. Even at 17, she worked this out for herself. Being late every single shift would have seen her laid off a long time ago.

Does the person who told him it was "Ok" have a young relative or son/daughter who needs a job?

Are you triggered by the notion that you may have poor punctuality, too?

Btw I work in retail and have to be on time to open the tills so we can actually sell stock. If I’m not we open late or someone else has to do that instead of their own job. If people are late starting when I’m about to finish I have to wait for them because I can’t leave the shop floor unattended. If someone is routinely late I am going to be pissed off because I will then be late for school pick up.

It was the holiday that pushed things over, too much of a piss take to be on holiday in the first month, get the probation done, get a proper contract then work out holidays.

Well he clearly wasn’t telling the truth. They weren’t OK with it at all, and he needs to take responsibility for losing himself his job, not be told by his mother that he’s been unfairly treated because her employer doesn’t mind people being late ??? 🤷‍♀️