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.

Yes, you are right. She doesn't understand.

"The left"? My politics are "left" and I recognise that employment needs a compatibility test before employment rights kick in, like any other relationship between adults.

OP, if you're still reading: someone told him this firm was a horrible employer. It's entirely possible that it's the kind of workplace that prioritises conformity (obedience) above all else. Suits some people; kills the souls of others. He may have ended up leaving before long. All the same, it makes no sense to poke the bear and see if it bites! For future, he needs to maintain basic standards before finding out if there is room to manoeuvre.

Judging by the OP's reaction, she doesn't understand the importance of punctuality within professional services.

Doesn't that encourage every slacker just to get the boot. Sit on thd dole till their sanctioned, get another job and get themselves sacked?

That's what I thought

Yeh for staff who could be arsed to turn up on time...he's been there weeks, its a job in finance. You don't recruit someone on a whim

You can be dismissed for anything at all if you’re in probation. So not really fair that in a situation like that you find yourself with no source of income.

What you can’t do is decide to leave your job in order to claim UC.

No indeed. Where I work, you get deducted pay for lateness.

Don’t retail environments have stricter time controls than office environments? I’d be surprised otherwise!

Sounds as if your son has been economical with his version of events.

I doubt very much that any employer would be happy for someone to be late every day. I also suspect they weren’t telling him to get an earlier bus as suggested but possibly as a response to your son asking what he should have done to avoid the situation.

I assume he was always leaving on time? Not a few minutes later to make up his list time? Perhaps that would have gone some way to mitigate the situation.

Hopefully he’ll find a new job asap and a lesson has been learned.

However this has been one of my favourite threads of the year.

When I worked in retail you had to clock in so the time you arrived was officially recorded. I’ve never had a single job where lateness would have been tolerated.

Well...He gave the OP the impression that he'd checked.

I had a situation where a member of my department came in late and I covered the few minutes for her - as I would have done for anyone.

The problem was that she then decided that it was okay for her to be late every day...and I had to disabuse her of that notion. She became furious and gave me a litany of reasons for her lateness.

The thing is that I was dealing with exactly the same issues in my life and - as I pointed out - we had to be on time, since we were working in a school and her being late meant that I had to cover her register class instead of dealing with my HoD duties.

OK, read the OP's post, went off and did lots of work stuff (flexible working because I have worked in this role for 20 years and also because it is necessary and my employer (public sector)) benefits hugely. Having commented and then read OP's posts, not only does she do a huge disservice to her DC, but also other young people. Getting to a job on time is pretty basic. Most young people do not drive and get a bus or train. When starting out ffs, you just get the one that gets you there in time and, yes you will be early, but you just read or whatever. When I was in this position it was the 90s, no smart phone/kindle etc. Lots of time waiting at bus stops with no updates and a book. My DC has had a job since 16 and now at uni, a learning curve as have become a shift manager and dealing with the public and senior management in a national company. I am really proud of how they are managing and transferable skills. I would be absolutely mortified and question my skills as a parent, if they could not get themselves to work on time.

So?

Late is late and clearly his employer isn’t ok with it, nor should yours be.

Even my 14 year old knows it’s absolutely not ok to turn up even a minute late for work, because we have told her, drilled her that she needs to get there at least 15 minutes early so she is ready to START work at the start time. Every single time.

To rock up late all week in your first week of a job is absolutely ridiculous. He deserves to be sacked and will hopefully learn a very sage lesson about paid work - no one likes a lazy shit.

Did they ACTUALLY SAY "we are ok with you planning to be a few minutes late everyday" or was it more "you won't get into trouble if sometimes you are a few minutes late".

My employer is "ok" with me being a few minutes late.

• I try to get the 7.50
• sometimes I miss it and get the 8.03
• sometimes the 8.03 misses or is 10 mins late

If I miss the 7.50 or it misses AND the 8.03 is late or misses I will probably get the 8.15 which may not get to work until after my start time (especially if the 8.15 doesn't come till 8.20) and I don't get into trouble for being late.

That is NOT the same as my employer actually being HAPPY with me INTENTIONALLY not trying to get a bus until 8.15, which probably means I don't get in till 9.20, 20 mins after my start time.

Unless your son ACTALLY said "I will always aim for the train at X time, which will get me to work at Y time - this number of minutes late, is that ok?" AND they said "yes", it sounds like that are being understanding of public transport going wrong and your son has decided to be very lazy and rude, not bothering to try to get to work on time, and probably needs a change in attitude.

If you get sacked within the 1st 6 months they put you straight back on any sanctions or back to work programmes that you were on before which is supposed to be a deterant but it doesn't work as 1 from what I can see

He was only informed of getting an earlier train from today, so how can they dismiss
You can’t be serious? You really don’t think he could have been expected to work this out for himself??

Why is everyone ignoring the fact that the DS was told it was OK? I've had loads of jobs where turning up a few minutes late to fit with public transport was fine. Even as a carer, one of the residential complexes was towards the outside of town (still in town); the first bus didn't arrive until 07:09. Start time was 7 am.

No one who didn't drive was expected to be there before 7:11. All of my office jobs were flexible; the one I work now, you can take an hour for lunch, or less, and finish early or more and finish late as long as you work the amount of hours you're contracted to work no one gives a shit what time you arrive or leave.

I've worked at my.place for 7 years but still wouldn't be allowed to be late every day!

Yes and no.
Retail tends to be paid by the hour and you have to clock in and out, some even make you clock in and out for breaks aswell and the clockin machine often requires a finger print to stop others clocking you in and out. You are only paid for the time you're working, so if you clock in late you dont get paid for that time

Everyone isn’t ’ignoring’ it, it clearly wasn’t ok because he got fired for it. So he’s likely misunderstood or lied to OP. And given her reactions I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s lied to her to avoid getting the crap for it himself

I suspect what they think they agreed and what he told you they agreed are not the same. I wouldn't let one employee be late because it's not fair to those who are on time. I really think your DS probably misread the indicators here. Lesson learned I hope.

Ok 1st finace doesn't work like that.
2nd there's a huge difference between the only form of public transport that goes to a worksite being a bus and the earliest that service can get there is 10 mins after start time so everyone using public transport is given the same leway and 1 lazy probationer who cant be bothered getting the earlier train that would get him to work on time.
In your situation its entirely out of your control in his its entirely his fault he was late everyday.

We also don't know that he was told that he could come in late everyday instead of being told that if hes late due to train delays occasionally thats ok

Or at least day 2!