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.

That's a one off that can be explained

He was not a reliable asset; therefore, he was fired.

The scenario hardly requires rocket science.

🙄

After one month? For being a few minutes late.

Why not just give him a warning to improve. It will take time to hire someone else.

Jesus I'm thankful for my employer then. i was once two hours late due to a train cancellation. I told them what happened. They said 'that's fine, just make up the time' which I did

I have been late to work more than once due to train issues.

All of my colleagues have been aswell

Quite.
They’re hardly downsizing mere weeks after taking on new staff. Supermarkets don’t downsize anyway, unless a whole store is closing.

Companies downsize all the time and its often 'last in, first out'

What would your employer say if you were late everyday for a month, and it wasn’t because of train cancellations.

Your case and the case in question are two very different situations.

Yes he could have been given a written warning but he hadn’t been employed for long.

Now you have done some speculation here - “My thought is : they wanted to downsize staff anyway and so let him go” - so let me have my turn, My thought is: there may have been other issues on top of the lateness that finally the employer said “Do you know what, it’s not working” and so let him go.

Don't be obtuse.

I highly doubt you are arriving at your workplace two hours late each day.

Again it's not a consistent thing day to day thing. It's something out of your control that happens infrequently.

The thing is we don't know how often he was just a bit late. As per my example, if he was getting a train that arrived at 8.57 for a job that started at 9 then he would be late every day. The way it's been presented by the OP is that he was told being late was ok. The issue I think is down to how the son communicated with them - was he actually late each day due to bad timings of trains or was it that he chanced getting a later train without leaving much leeway? Did the employer believe that he meant he might be occasionally late if the something happened on the train that morning, rather than the timings of the train not matching the hours?
Also how many minutes is just a bit late? Again I think OP said something about 1-5mins, but I guess it's probably more like 5-10mins which in a month if happening multiple times a week is quite obvious and other staff have probably noticed too (especially if he didn't say anything about making up the time/apologising when he arrived).

Ah well I've nothing more to add.

It is difficult to credit the notion that any employer would assure a new starter that habitual lateness was entirely acceptable. That proposition is, frankly, absurd. A new role is precisely the moment to make a favourable impression.

The OP appears to have only a partial account of events, beyond her son’s assertion that the job was not to his liking.

@BlueFahrenheit , it really is absurd and all this talk of flexi time and his right to flexi time, he wasn’t on such a contract. Even suggestions of him offering to work late to make up time. If that was in available, maybe, but ideally be on time.

If it was my DD, I would be furious at my DD but I would expect her to own it. My DD has learned some hard lessons in the real world of work. We all have, it’s called experience.

@MNLurker1345

Had he approached his employment with the requisite seriousness and punctuality, he would not now find himself unemployed.

He has to acknowledge that his present circumstances are, at least in part, the consequence of his own error and may it yet serve as a useful lesson.

The OP appears not to appreciate this fundamental point.

A few minutes late every day. Without the initiative to take an earlier train. He proved he could get to work on time when he responded to the email sent by the employer telling him to get an earlier train. He shouldn’t have had to be told. That lack of initiative was probably evident in other areas of his work and taken together resulted in them sacking him.

He should have been on the train that got him to work on time from the very first day. He shouldn’t have needed telling.

Jesus wept. This is why PP said you are not doing your son any favours and being argumentative.

sorry your DS lost his job. He needs to chalk it up to experience and be exemplary next time, rather than consistently a few minutes late. These things do matter, even if you/he don’t think that they do.

I travel by public transport and get the bus 3 times earlier than the one I need so I'm never late. Why on earth did he think being late every day was acceptable and why on earth didn't you boot his butt on an earlier train.

He needs to be on time, doesn’t matter where he lives. Surely that’s obvious?

He’s 19 … why does he need his employer to tell him to get an earlier train so he is not late for work every day?

Do you work at the same place as your son?

He should have got an earlier train before having to be told. What a numpty

No she works at a supermarket. He had an office job in "finance".

This is 100% what is wrong with society today.

You, as a parent, are furious at the employer for sacking your adult son for being consistently late?! Surely your anger should be at your son for losing his job because he failed to turn up on time? Add those 'few minutes each day' up over the space of a month and all of a sudden it seems pretty ridiculous that he's being paid for time he's not at work.

He chose to take a job that involved a train journey, being on time for employment is a bare minimum expectation, the employer shouldn't have had to even tell him to get an earlier train!!! You as a parent have surely taught him the importance about being on time for school etc so what's changed now he's employed?!?

LOL. No need to call ACAS. I have some great advice that my ten year old could tell him.

Get. To. Work. On. Time.

Fuck me, does this need spelling out?