Furious at ds work dismissal

You are behind the times because very few workplaces need an exact time start to operationally function

im not ‘lucky’ I just have a decent workplace who value employee work life balance and as a result get much more out of me as an employee by allowing that flexibility

If his train was delayed or cancelled then he rings or emails someone at work asap. Thats what I’ve done. Yeah maybe a bit overkill but better that than thought to be taking the piss and being late.

why are other posters ‘behind the times’ when it’s literally his employer that fired him for it? You are very lucky with your employer, many wouldn’t allow that, mine certainly wouldn’t. And the OPs sons clearly weren’t ok with it either.

People wonder why there are a million neets.

Surely, you have to mention impending holidays at interview?

Those expecting him to get an earlier train are so far behind the times.
a 40 min journey sounds like trains wouldn’t be as regularl, he could spend an extra couple of hours to get there earlier or he couldn’t be the 5 minutes late which workplace said they were okay with

if he was doing his job well then this shouldn’t matter, workplaces needed to be flexible for quality of life

I am a 40 minute train journey from my work. I’m due to start at 8am and I get a train that gets me in at 8.04
im due to finish at 4pm and I leave around 3.50 to catch a 4.04pm train.
workplace totally fine with this as the alternative is getting up at 5.30am and getting home at 6.30pm
i more than make up for those minutes when working

He is an adult and should be at work and at his desk when he is due.

Agree with you. I commute over an hour on the train and due to timetables I often have to get to work up to an hour before I need to be there. It’s fine for me, I can chill with a coffee and settle in but it means I have to wake up much earlier. If you use PT you’re at the mercy of timetables. I also think a commuter or two have complained and told the manager earlier trains exist. The manager then told him to get there early to prove their point, which he did.

I did once have a job interview with a company who wasn't OK with flexible hours. It was based in an office in an out-of-town industrial estate. The job was 9-5 with no flexibility allowed, so I would have had to get an early bus and arrive at 8:05 every day.

The desks were arranged in rows in one big room, like an exam hall and everyone was working in complete silence. The interviewer was a bit odd too, and clearly couldn't get past the fact that I'd once gone travelling abroad for a month between jobs. I'm glad I wasn't offered the job as it all looked utterly joyless!

I think if I was an employer who had taken on a new employee who was not only late every morning but also informed me that he needed time off for a holiday during his first month of working ( fair enough if it was already booked, but it would still be bloody annoying), I would think to myself “OK, we’ve maybe let this slide a bit, so when XXX comes back off his holiday we will nip the lateness in the bud and say we expect him to catch an earlier train from now on and get in on time if he wants to continue to work here.”

FAFO.

Your kid is 19 and learned the hard way he needs to be on time for work or he'll lose his job. If it's not in writing it doesn't count.

Pretty simple. I hope he gets another one soon.

He should have been on time from day 1 and every following day. Baffled why you would think otherwise

He shouldn’t need to be told to get an earlier train, you just get the earlier train automatically rather than being a few minutes late every day.

"he told you ..."

Maybe "you should have told him" that IF he has a new job (or any job), then he gets the earlier train to be at work on time"

I kay this partly at your door - he is your son. Train him better.

If you accept a job then it’s upto you to get there on time

at 19 he shouldn’t need to be told to get the earlier train surely he could of worked that out himself

I can’t believe you think there being unreasonable
please tell my your not sat there telling him he’s been wronged by the world
the only person I’d be angry at is for son for being so stupid and entitled

I suspect YABU. If his train made was unreliable, he should have shown willing and caught an earlier train.
I would only say YANBU if he has something in writing to say that they were happy for him to be a few minutes late if he made the time up, or similar.

Yes I think the employer is the dickhead. They asked him to get the earlier train so he could travel in to be fired. But you're ignoring that.

I don't share your experience of the public sector but there was the odd one like you, actually using the phrase 'operational needs' 😂. They never had many friends and were usually miserable at home.

In any case a 9.30am start worked really well for the folks who would have had to arrive at 8.15am for a (pointless) 9.00am start. Very few started after that but when they needed to they weren't "late".

Plenty of private companies work on that basis and with those that dont they tend to be very give and take once you've proved youre not a piss taker.

A 19 year old is very unlikely to be able to walk into a civil service flexi time job.

Your post doesn’t really apply to this situation, he didn’t request flexible working formally and his employer wasn’t ok with him being late every day. Many employers aren’t ok with it actually

It feels as though many of these responses are from the early 2000s. Times have changed, especially due to Covid and advances in WPN technology. Flexible working requests, hot-desking and hybrid working are all commonplace now in some sectors and it isn't unreasonable to talk to your employer about them.

Of course, if OP's son has client appointments, or works for a very small business in which only one or two employees are on duty at once, then this doesn't apply.

First post mailed it! OP, you aren’t doing him any favours by support this - sounds like he needed a reality check

He may also find that he “owes” them holiday as he has not been there long enough to accrue as much leave as he has taken.

I suspect they didn’t realise when they said being a bit late was ok that he was deliberately getting a late train as opposed to a train being late one or two occasions / there is a world of difference

live and learn

Sorry, what ??!!

This. He should have been taking the earlier train from day 1. I'd be more concerned that he didn't have the common sense to realise this.