Furious at ds work dismissal

Most of them weren't nasty. One that was has been deleted.

It’s possible they asked about any holiday plans at interview and he informed them at the time. Doesn’t excuse the lateness issue though.

I'm sorry for the nastiness of the responses. I hope your son finds another job soon.

Why wasn’t he already getting the earlier train? If it says 9am in his contract that’s when he needs to get there.

Also what did they do/ say to make him think they were “ok” with it? Because obviously they weren’t…

This is a life lesson for him- best to take it on the chin and move on.

“He is a few minutes late everyday because of the trains”………begging your pardon I’m sure but I took that quote to mean that the service wasn’t reliable!

Likely it baffled his employer too - which is why he was sacked !!

But arriving 5 minutes after your start time probably means not actually starting to work until 10 mins after your start time.....a 9am start time means working from 9am not walking through the door at 9am (or 9.05 in his case).

It shouldn't have needed to be but hopefully it's a lesson learned.

From a legal perspective he has no comeback. He has only been there a few weeks so he cannot claim unfair dismissal in this situation.

The fact that people are late every day at your place of work isn't relevant. An employer is entitled to expect employees to turn up on time. If they actually said it was ok for him to be a few minutes late every day, it is a bit shitty of them to dismiss him purely on that basis.

I note that you say he informed them of the holiday. You don't say that he requested the time off and had it approved. If he did not do so, that would be likely to lead to dismissal on its own.

I was unable to get to an old job of mine on time as there were no buses early enough. It was a rural area. This was some years ago, I drive now. I told them this from day one and got it in writing from them that I could start early and finish half an hour later as a condition of me taking the job.
There were then no problems and they offered me the job.
However in this case there was an earlier train and so your son had zero excuses to be late.
Did they really say he could be late everyday or is he just telling you that. Im finding that highly unlikely. Why didnt he get the earlier train from the start?

I really feel for the younger generation. When they have parents who clearly haven't taught them that they need to be on time, or who suggest that it's fine to be unreliable as long as nobody has explicitly told you that you are expected to be reliable, what hope do they really have of succeeding in the workplace?

The OP says she is furious that her son's employer didn't proactively spell out that they wanted him to be on time. Surely it was his job to ensure that he arrived on time without being told, unless his employer had proactively spelt out that they operate a flexi system and that they weren't bothered?

I do agree but anyone has the right to request flexible working.

I think you're right. He turned up late, said it was because of the train and work said it was OK because they assumed the train had been delayed. OP's son then took it for granted he could be late everyday whilst his employer assumed he would find a solution and when he didn't they decided to terminate his contract.

Nobody is venomous. It’s stating the obvious, you need to get a train which gets you to work in good time.

when my eldest started work. I said to him, never be in late, never leave the earliest and never say no to an ask. Those who you met on the way up can push you on the way down.

All actions have consequences, hopefully he has learnt his lesson

What with the state of the country, higher employer NI contributions, higher NMW, the welfare budget, NEETS and on it goes, and then employer lack of confidence in employing and training young people because of perceived attitude, don’t make excuses for your DS, make him not that person.

But that’s a necessary adjustment. Getting an earlier train would have got him to work on time and instead he actively chose to be late every day. That says a lot about commitment.

sorry but this

So he’s one month into a new job, has already had a holiday and is late into work every single day? I’m surprised he wasn’t let go sooner.

I doubt if they were okay with it, that doesn't make sense. Presumably his colleagues were arriving on time, so bending the rules for him would cause issues and resentment. Arriving a few minutes late, would have been more than that once he allows time to get ready to start work. Depending on the role, walking through the door 5-10 minutes before his start time is being there on time. He's 19, punctuality is his responsibility. It shouldn't have needed someone to tell him to get an earlier train - he really should have worked that out for himself. There's no point in being furious on his behalf, because it gives the wrong message - that he has done nothing wrong and has been treated unfairly, which just isn't the case. It's a lesson learned, and I doubt he'll make the same mistake again. Hope he finds a new job soon.

What employer is okay with someone being late every day. He told you porky pies because they probably said that they were okay on the day not EVERY day.

OP, you son was in the wrong, hasn't been working there for long and you are angry at the wrong person. He is unreliable - he can't even be asked to be at work on time in a new job. YABU.

Was he a "few minutes late' getting to the airport for his flight? It drives me bonkers when one of mine strolls in at 9.06 each morning. If she got the earlier bus she'd be here at 8.40am. But no, she doesn't want to waste 20 mins sat at her desk doing nothing.

I would question whether or not your DS was telling the truth about them being ok with him being late and whether it was actually 1-5 minutes or longer. I know a few lads who would lie about both of those things to get a few extra minutes in bed. 🙈

Or possibly they meant they were OK with it that day, or on days when there’s an issue with the service, and he’s taken that to mean every day. I think the fact that they emailed him on his first day back to ask him to get an earlier train is significant - possibly they were waiting for him to do this on his own initiative and his failure to do so is reflected by the same lack of initiative in other areas of his work

He should have requested flexible working to start at say 9.10 to 5.10 (this is what I did to enable me to do the school run before work and avoid breakfast club costs for 3 dc but still have a good job. Lesson learned, onwards to the next thing.

Once you’re at the point that your employer has mentioned they are unhappy with your timekeeping, you are already in a bad, bad place. They’ve probably already been thinking about it for a while. The onus is NOT on the employer to remind the employee about punctuality, it should be a given.

A painful lesson for your son but one hopefully he won’t forget.

I've only skim read but this doesn't seem to have been addressed:
He's just come off holiday (which he informed them of)

Did he get the holiday signed off by a manager or did he just take it?