Furious at ds work dismissal

[OneGreyBiscuit]

This is more has my 19 year old ds employers been unreasonable. He's just been sacked for being unreliable. For context - he accepted a new job about a month ago. He informed them of where he lives which is about a forty minute train journey away. He is a few minutes late everyday because of the trains and they said they were ok with it. He's just come off holiday (which he informed them of) and went back today. He was sent an email before today telling him to get an earlier train so he's on time. Fair enough, so he did and would've continued doing. At 9 he was called into a meeting to tell him his contracts been terminated for unreliability. He was only informed of getting an earlier train from today, so how can they dismiss him like this? If he continued to get the later train and continued being late then I'd understand but they've not even given him a chance. I'm absolutely furious. And to add insult to injury he still had to pay for his waste of time and money train fare this morning.

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

"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.

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

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.

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.”

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!

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.

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

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

Surely, you have to mention impending holidays at interview?

People wonder why there are a million neets.

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.

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.

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

Would be be saying that if - for example - he was working at a holiday club? Somewhere with necesssary ratios whereby he makes other parents late by not being there on time?

Or a teacher.

or a paramedic?

Most jobs require you to turn up on time - or at least show willing to get there on time!

Of he wanted to be 1-5 minutes late he needed to get a flexible working request in to change his hours to 9.15 and finishing 15 minutes later so he could arrive, use the loo, put his bags away and be ready to work when his contract starts.

Considering most schools don’t even allow children 5 minutes grace it’s hardly news to them that punctuality is expected. ( and I’m against the zero tolerance schools that don’t allow an occasional public transport delay or RTC as a reason!)

I suspect your son may have thought they were ok with it because he hadn’t been bollocked. And they might have said don’t worry about it to start because they didn’t realise they needed to spell it out to him. It is a life lesson. I’d understand if there wasn’t an earlier train. But there is so he should have been on it. Hope he finds a new job

No, you should have told your son that turning up late isn’t acceptable, especially for a new job. You’ve not done your son any favours

With one month’s service they can dismiss for any non-discriminatory reason. ACAS can’t help.

You only have your son’s side of the story, did he really ask if they were okay with him being later everyday? He might be telling you what you want to hear and never had a proper conversation with them.

Very few? Have you ever worked shifts? I have - 6-2, 2-10 and 10-6. You cannot be late as the previous shift worker will not be able to go home until you are able to take over!

There is no evidence that the workplace was ok with a regular being late rather than a one off due to train delays

if you need to leave 2 hrs earlier that’s the choice you make to take the job - find a gym near work , plan to learn to drive, find a lift share , leave a bike at the station so you gain a few minutes back , rent a room closer to work

Ooft, a hard lesson for him for sure. But he should always have been taking the earlier train, simple as that. Why on earth would he not have done that from the start. They clearly were not ok with him being a bit late, not when there was a perfectly acceptable way to get to work on time, ie take the earlier train. Him getting to work on time is on him, not their problem. If he was genuinely only a few minutes late, he could have worked slightly later maybe, if agreed with the boss - was there anything else going on op, has he told you the whole story?

I do feel the DS deserves to be fired. But I thought with most office jobs if you arrive late you just work later?

If an earlier train was an option he should have been getting that 🤷🏻‍♀️

This thread makes no sense.