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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some employers absolutely take the piss?

46 replies

malificent7 · 18/12/2020 07:23

On the bus this morning...a desperate young man turned up wanting to know why his bus was late by 15 mins. He then said if he was late to work he would get the sack.

Now he may have been a repeat offender but tbh if any employer was to sack you as the bus didnt turn up aibu to think they can shove their job up their arse ( not that this young man can afford to loose his.)

OP posts:
ADMum20 · 18/12/2020 07:27

I’ve been on the other side of this, managing an employee who was continually late with the excuse ‘my train was late’

When asked why they simply didn’t start to get an earlier train, they nodded along.... then proceeded to get the same one as always (which, when running on time only gave them 10 mins to spare). They continued to be late at least 3 times a week.

Eventually, I had to start moving towards making things formal.

From what you’ve said mid be thinking ‘bad employee’ not ‘bad employer’. Very few (no one?) gets sacked from being late once...

BingPot99 · 18/12/2020 07:28

For a 'first offence' the employer would be unreasonable, but if it keeps happening, he needs to leave home earlier to get an earlier bus or find a more reliable way to travel. Employers (and colleagues) can't be expected to continually pick up the slack for poor time keeping

AmIAWeed · 18/12/2020 07:29

Seriously?!
If I was driving to work and there was bad traffic every day I'd leave earlier not blame the traffic.
If there were issues with a bus or it only just gets you there in time you'd get any earlier one.
Both scenarios are the issue of the employee.

If there was a one off incident then I fail to believe any company would sack unless he's a repeat offender or crap at his job and already on disciplinary.
I would also expect an employee to call in the moment they knew there was an issue so I'm not concerned they've been hurt and can get someone to fill in for them for half hour etc pending how late they anticipate being.
It's about communication and taking responsibility

Pinkmagic1 · 18/12/2020 07:31

Many employers are all take, take, take and no give. What they don't seem to realise is that if they treated their staff like human beings, they would in turn work harder and be more productive.
It wouldn't surprise me if the man would be in trouble as his bus was late, but him employer would think nothing of making him work unpaid overtime.

wellthatsunusual · 18/12/2020 07:34

I can see both sides of this. But to be honest, I used to get the earliest bus possible to get to work, the first bus of the day. It just got me there on time (hour long journey). If they didn't leave on time then I was potentially going to be late for work and it really wasn't my fault. I didn't earn enough to be able to live closer to work, and I couldn't find a job closer to home. I couldn't drive to work because I couldn't afford to park in the city I worked in.

So basically, if you're a low earner, your options can be very very limited.

wellthatsunusual · 18/12/2020 07:37

Obviously if you live somewhere with plentiful transport then you get your arse out of bed and get an earlier bus though.

islockdownoveryet · 18/12/2020 07:38

I can't believe he'd get the sack it's probably the last straw.
The traffic or if you have circumstances that you've explained to a employer.
If you just can't be bothered to set your alarm a few minutes earlier then the guy only has himself to blame .
I've been on both sides as a supervisor who's colleague was repeatedly late and myself when I had childcare issues getting dc to school so was occasionally late but made the time up . I hated being late , was quite stressed but at the time I couldn't do anything, I explained situation to employer and they were sympathetic.
Colleague who was repeatedly late blamed public transport and wasn't even apologetic about it or even cared no effort to make time up I think that's the difference.

Original poster
malificent7 · 18/12/2020 07:40

I turned up early for my bus today...it drove straight past the depot meaning i had to take the later bus...has happened twice this week. Note depot...not random bus stop.

OP posts:
Original poster
malificent7 · 18/12/2020 07:41

I will just about be on time. He might well have been a repeat offender...perhaps i should gave titled it " aibu to think that buses take the piss?"

OP posts:
SnuggyBuggy · 18/12/2020 07:42

The majority of employers don't give a shit, they just want the work done. Good employers pretend to give a shit but it's still pretending.

wellthatsunusual · 18/12/2020 07:44

I could well believe that some employers would sack someone for a first or second offence. If you've not been there very long you have little in the way of rights and some people in life are spectacular arseholes who enjoy the power they have over employees. The country is full of people desperate for work, a crap boss can have a new employee tomorrow if they want to.

FunnyInjury · 18/12/2020 07:45

Some employers are piss taking slave drivers, some employees are habitually late or lazy shirkers 🤷‍♀️
Not sure a comment at a bus stop from someone running late is an indicator of either tbh

IMNOTSHOUTING · 18/12/2020 07:51

It depends really. If you work in an office job it might not matter if you're a bit late, you can stay a little later to finish off your work. If your employer is relying on you to open a shop/bar/restaurant or deliver pizzas etc then you should really get an earlier bus to make sure you're on time. They still certainly shouldn't be sacked for a first offence but buses are quite often late so if it was a regular thing it ould easily be a sackable offence.

SonjaMorgan · 18/12/2020 07:52

Public transport is so unreliable in some areas that only the people who never use it would recommend it for getting to work. When DC was little I was stuck getting the same train due to childcare issues and it was late 25pc of the time. Luckily my employer let me work on flexible hours or I would have lost my job.

Moondust001 · 18/12/2020 07:54

@SnuggyBuggy

The majority of employers don't give a shit, they just want the work done. Good employers pretend to give a shit but it's still pretending.
So basically all employers may as well be bad employers because they don't really mean to be good employers? I suppose in your warped world, all employees are good employees? What rubbish.
SnuggyBuggy · 18/12/2020 07:56

What have employees got to do with anything?

McPie · 18/12/2020 07:58

A bad workman always blames his tools!
I started college a couple of years ago and on my 2nd day my bus got me there 15 minutes late due to traffic. Never been late again, I always took the earlier bus after that, some days got me in over an hour early. Once I passed my test I tweeked my leaving time so I am always about 20 - 30 minutes early. I also check traffic on the route and change my time to reflect any delays.

islockdownoveryet · 18/12/2020 07:59

I do agree with you there op buses are a nightmare, very rarely get a bus now but before I could drive it was a nightmare.

nicknamehelp · 18/12/2020 07:59

As an employer the more we give the more they take/want there has to be a line. If you are a small company 1 person constantly late can cause issues.

SnuggyBuggy · 18/12/2020 08:01

I agree that if we seriously want people to stop using their cars public transport needs to be a lot better. One of my workplace did a weeks free bus travel scheme to try and tempt people out of their cars. Some of my colleagues had a go and concluded that the busses simply weren't reliable for people who needed to be at a certain place by a certain time.

RaspberryCoulis · 18/12/2020 08:04

The only person I ever sacked was persistently late. In a job where everyone had to be sitting down, ready to go at 9am, she regularly drifted in at 10 past or 20 past 9. Bus late was the usual comment, there were plenty of buses but she just couldn't bother her backside to get an earlier one.

It has a huge impact on the rest of the team, people become resentful and it wastes a huge amount of management time sorting it out, going down disciplinaries, gathering evidence.

Just get to work on time. It's not rocket science. Yes some employers do take the piss but so do a HUGE number of employees.

GintyMcGinty · 18/12/2020 08:09

If his employment is at such peril that the bus being 15 minutes late puts him at risk - why did he not get an earlier bus?

Bookriddle · 18/12/2020 08:10

Its why i love my job, i technically cant be late, im on annualised hours, so i normally start at 6am, but if i started at 7am, i jave the whole year to make that hour up!

It was the only perk to covid for me, i was made redundant from my previous job, got this one, it means i can drop DD off at nursery and just stay on the extra 2 hours i missed in the morning

IMNOTSHOUTING · 18/12/2020 08:12

I also remember working in a bar as a student and had a colleague who was consistently late, often when she was relieving me after my shift. It was bloody annoying because I couldn't leave until she turned up. The manager actually couldn't give a toss because it was only my time being wasted. She got the train that got her into work basically on the dot so any time it was late she was late. The rest of us got the train half an hour earlier then sat in the staff room having a tea if we were early but not her.

Bluntness100 · 18/12/2020 08:13

I’m sorry but was it the first bus? There wasn’t an earlier one? If your bus takes you in to work with no time to spare then you’re always going to be having issues. No one can predict the traffic.