Lateness and verbal warning

[Pinkginxx]

Looking for an unbiased view, so I'll ask an open question. Over a period of 12 months, how many times would you think an employee has to be late to trigger a verbal warning?

I can honestly say in all my working history 25 years plus I have never been late even including the times I have had to rely on public transport and been a lone parent of 3 DC
I am now a manager and it does bug me staff being constantly late expecting colleagues to pick up the slack.

Each time I was late, I had to find my manager and explain.

Each time then became an 'informal' verbal warning, which would count in my annual appraisal.

Three times in one quarter would result in a written warning.

If there was no reason for you to have to have a bum on seat at 9am or whatever then it wouldn’t bother me but I would expect you to make up the hour at home. You’d have to square it with me properly though rather than just turn up late as hoc.

If the bus is, say, 10 minutes late, and you don't know if it's coming, if you called a taxi then and there would it get you there on time? If so I would do that.

This is ridiculous. You’re an adult. I’d hate to be treated this way at work and if hand my notice in.

3 in my office

You’re an adult. I’d hate to be treated this way at work and if hand my notice in.

Yes an adult who is contracted and paid to do a job.

I am late pretty much evety single day, as are most of the office to varying degrees, reading this I guess I'd be in for a shock working elsewhere!

You can be paid to do a job and still do it if you are occasionally late. Through no fault of their own. Treat people like adults, not school children.

At my last firm, there was a policy of docking 15 minutes for one minute late, and if you did it twice in a month, you got a meeting. If you gave them a phone call up to 15 minutes earlier (traffic etc) you got a free go unless you were late to the first delivery. I only screwed up once in five years; my problem wasn't punctuality but my ability to give the kiss of death to machinery. Last year I blew up two engines, had a propane tank split and my windscreen shattered while stationary.

I suppose it depends on the job, if you’re on a production line, in a care home, a teacher etc then obviously being late at all is a huge problem.

If you’re just going in to sit at a desk and plough through work (as I do) it’s not S much of a big deal, as long as you do make the time up. If I was pulled up for being a couple of minutes late I’d be rethinking the hours of work over my hours that I do

I'm a lawyer. No-one bats an eyelid if people aren't in on the dot of 9am. People work flexibly, we're adults, we're trusted to do our jobs. Everyone frequently works through lunch and late if needed. So no-one would even notice if someone was 10 or 15 minutes late to work.

You can be paid to do a job and still do it if you are occasionally late

Well, that depends on the job! Of course it happens occasionally - there's an accident or your car breaks down or you're snowed in but that shouldn't be happening more than once or twice a year at most, surely?

I've had

Suicides

Mechanical failures

Assaults on bus drivers who had to wait for police and relief drivers

Fare dodgers who refused to leave the bus - so the drivers have shut the buses down and refused to leave

Witnessing crimes on the way to work and having to give police statements

Bus strikes

Train strikes

And just plain old over sleeping.

Now, as soon as it becomes obvious the bus is going to be late, I go straight for the taxi option.

It has cost me an absolute fortune.

Oh god I was late practically every day, by between 5-15 minutes. My boss just rolled her eyes at me occasionally. To be fair I don't think I left my desk at five pm more than twice and both times I asked my boss specifically for permission, even though that was my contracted end of the working day!

Totally depends on the job/workplace and whether you're making the time up at other times.

Doesn't sound like it's your fault at all so they'd be idiots to be harsh about it.

I’m a teacher, you can imagine how well strolling in 15 minutes after registration would go down. Sadly, it appears many parents don’t feel the same way as I am almost always missing 2 or 3 children when I take the register. Yes, I am a parent, yes I understand that getting out the door can be a nightmare- but really those one off poo explosions/ lost keys/ awkward pets don’t happen at 8.35 every morning.

I wonder what will happen to their children if they go into jobs where punctuality is expected.

I have flexi working but admittedly, I am always the last one in the office. No one has ever said anything.