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.

Never smoked in my life
Can i leave early because I'm not having a smoke break?

When i was working in a retail job i got the bus in which was always 8.30am on the dot Got me to the shop in the town centre in less than ten mins Plenty of time for 9am opening. Then these buses ran late twice which made me late opening up. So i ran behind About an hour after i got into work a customer had a go at me (i was running late with tasks and running the shop on my own) so wasnt quick enough for him. My reply was "well your buses have been late twice now and if they werrnt running behind then i wouldnt be either.
It was the bus driver.

To be fair regarding the holiday, if you have prebooked a holiday prior to starting a new job, most employers will honour it. I had a holiday booked prior to starting my first job , it was honoured.

im sorry about the job, its a lesson learnt which we all have to do in work.

The parent is likely not 19 and on a probation contract, they have likely got the permission in writing and make up for this small favour by doing an extra 15 minutes at other times etc.etc. Childcare is a different consideration under law than not being bothered to get up 30 minutes earlier to catch the first train etc.etc.

New employees at the very start of their employment need to be aware that the other people who were interviewed are still quite likely to be available, and that they are far from irreplaceable, and behave accordingly.

LOL, you would only need to work 15 minutes a day the amount some people smoke.

His responsibility to get to work on time.

Really no need.
I suspect the employers policy on lateness is / was available to him. I also suspect he just didn’t pass probation at this point due to poor timekeeping. There is no lengthy process necessary. I also suspect DS is not being entirely truthful because he doesn’t want his mum to tell him off for being late so he’s told her they’re ok with him being late every single day.

In what universe would an employer be ok with someone being late every day 😂
And what entitled rubbish is this to find it unreasonable that an employer doesn’t tolerate persistent lateness?

For most jobs you need to arrive a little EARLY so that you get yourself settled, set up and ready to begin work at the specified time. If you arrive late, you then settling in takes extra time and you aren’t ready to begin work til even later. It would annoy me as an employer, and as a colleague.

Wait he worked in the City? Yeah he is screwed. Reputation is insanely important and leaving within a month of starting is huge red flag. Seriously stupid move to not go in on time. I’d bet a partner pulled him up on it.

What happens at your workplace is immaterial and has no bearing on your DS's place of work. During probation, an employee can have their contract terminated for pretty much whatever reason. Tbh, I don't really understand why your DS didn't just take the earlier train from the outset? When I first started working, I had an hour's commute across London and left in plenty of time to arrive at least 5 minutes before I was due to start work. Surely, being on time, if not a little bit early is just common sense, particularly when one is a new hire and trying to make a good impression

Honestly instead of mouthing off at people on here you need to teach him that this is a life lesson. No one is laughing at a young man losing his job. But it’s a consequence of him not treating it seriously. If it’s a finance job in the city I imagine it’s a pretty corporate environment with an element of presenteeism and not the kind of culture people can just rock up late if they feel like it. Of course someone losing their job is never nice, and maybe they did have someone else lined up, but he’s certainly made it easier for them to get rid and he’s got no one to look to but himself.

I never put he works in the city, the job was in finance, invoicing, vat and the like. Tbh red flags were going up for me when he told me he was told the job is terrible (or words to that effect) so maybe he's had a lucky escape

With the OP's inability to accept that her son was in the wrong, it's no surprise he has adopted this attitude.

Working in professional services, turning up late before going away on his pre-booked holiday.

The entitlement 😂

If they thought he was shit hot they’d have given him a nudge to sort the train issue out. They actually just don’t want him working there. That’s private sector. He needs to up his game.

Yes they knew he lived a 40 minute train ride away when they offered him the job, bt could have lived three hours away, it's not the employer's problem, it's his problem. He applied for the job knowing full well how far away he lived.

He knew the start time when he accepted the job. The employer should not have to make allowances for a journey that was a given from the beginning.

If the train he is regularly catching is continually late (or just cutting it too fine for getting there on time with any reliability, which sounds more likely) he shouldn't need to be told to get an earlier train. He should have the common sense and sense of responsibilty to just do it.

If he's bleating about it not being his fault and it being unfair then it's clear he has no understanding what is expected of him as a working adult.

Teach him that it's better to be an hour early than a minute late. That should sort him for his next job.

How is OP's situation different to an agreement that a parent arrive 15 mins late so they can drop their child at childcare?

The difference is that they are dropping their child at childcare, not having difficulty getting their arse out of bed to get a train that gets them to work on time.

He’s probably lying because he knew you would tell him to get the earlier one otherwise. My son was exactly like this btw. He still has close to no initiative and when I asked on here I got told it was my own fault. Bit of tough love needed most likely, I feel your pain!

I am now even more shocked that it’s not his first job. Was it because the job wasn’t great that he asked to go in late or wanted somehow to be sacked?

He is consistently late, of course he can be dismissed and at 19 I’d expect him to work out he needed an earlier himself and not be asked

But why did he not get an earlier train????

This

And the excuses just keep on coming.

Agree with this. Yes they can sack you for pretty much anything during probation but as a hiring manager I can tell you if they value him in every other aspect they'd give him opportunity to rectify the lateness before sacking him. Maybe encourage him to reflect on whether anything else may have contributed to his sacking.