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.

At 19 he should have realised that he needed to get the earlier train so he stops being late! The employer had enough.

Yes, choosing to be an hour early every day is an option. It's the preferable option for the probationary period.

Discussing it with your boss is another option. Employers are human, and some of them are actually quite reasonable. If they are fine with you arriving at that time, get it in writing.

Ideally an updated contract with an amended start time, but at the very least by email, and cc whoever needs cc'ing. I'll bet my well-covered backside that neither of these things happened.

This is a lesson in both punctuality and arse-covering.

Did they go back on their word though? If they had said it was ok, he wouldn’t have got dismissed, as you haven’t because your employer did say it was ok.

It seems that many are of the opinion that the employer is at fault. We have no evidence of this.

He was dismissed because of his ‘unreliability’, that is a definite reason.

@Isthismykarma I take your word for it, it was said to you and you state it here. OP says her DS was told it was ok. We cannot in all honesty debate it solely on those terms because the messenger in this case is the mother of her dismissed DS.

At one point OP did say “From all who've suggested he's not telling me the truth, maybe maybe not, but I can only get his side of the story”.

We do not categorically know that the employer did say it was ok, and if so in what context was it said or meant.

I really cannot understand the work ethics nowadays......I was in a similar dilemma once: the train only ran once per hour, and a comfortable routine would have been to arrive a few minutes before my shift started but because of the times of the train. I had to get up at 4am, and get to work at 6am because of the trains times, instead of 7am start. I spent nearly ONE HOUR snoozing in the staff room, on a chair because I did not want to be One minute late. The ENTITLEMENT of balking about the TRAIN fair for this OP is farcical. A joke. B. T. W. When you start a New Job, it's not wise to start acting like the CEO on your first day. Or your first Week, or EVER!!!!!!

He can be dismissed for any reason under 2 years

unless it’s protecyed

so yeah….easily done if he’s late

Revenge being a dish best served cold, I'd advise your son to keep a note of the names of the people involved. Who said it was ok, who was responsible for the decision to end his employment etc.

Industries are small, he may well come across these people again and now he knows a couple of people who cannot be trusted to provide truthful answers/ be consistent. Will be ever want to work with them again?

god at 19 I was getting the 6am train 1hr30 mins away to get there for 8.30. Would have been lovely to get the 7am train but I would have been a few mins late so didnt… I’m not surprised he got fired, CF new employee!

When I was about that age I had a job where I caught the train. I spent hours each week waiting around because the train would have got there 'just' in time if I walked fast but I caught the earlier one so I wouldn't be late. It's one of those things - if there is an earlier train you catch it.

Just wrote a v similar experience! Crazy to me but also crazy how the parent didn’t point this out!

It just shows attitudes to work. And it’s not his first job so he knew about timekeeping. He probably thought it’s my second job, I can cruise for a bit here re holiday and lateness and I’ll survive. Which he did but not his job.

Well I know they are inflexible based on this response to him arriving 1-5 mins late. But that’s why I asked if he is customer facing (face to face or online). If there is a specific negative impact from him being 1 minute late then they are not inflexible. If not they are being ridiculous.

I’m sorry your son lost the job, however, he had his chance to make an impression and frankly, blew it. Anyone starting a new job should be there early never mind on time! Bright eyed and bushy tailed.

So I appreciate some of the comments have been nasty but you have really got out back up with people who gave genuine advice.

When I was 19 I got taken into a room with 2 managers when I worked in retail because I didn’t turn up to shifts…I told them I had holidays at my interview, then again when I started and to my manager before I left….they then tried to discipline me because I didn’t turn up because nobody communicated to one another!! Pulled my application which luckily had the dates of my holidays on it.

Have they sacked him because of the lateness or because is missing shifts (even though he was on holiday)? Did they elaborate on what they meant about being unreliable?

Assuming of course, that he was ever told it was OK in the first place. I think the chances of him bringing told it was fine to be late every single day are vanishingly small. More likely the employer mistakenly thought he was late the first time asa one off because of a delay in the train service, not approving late arrivals ad infinitum.

Would it not have been common sense to get the earlier train after the first couple times of being late? Why should his employer have to tell him to do that?

OP did they actually agree to him being a few minutes late everyday, or did he just assume they were ok with it because he wasn’t met with an immediate negative reaction?

I think for a lot of youngsters fresh out of education not being reprimanded on the spot for things like lateness as you would be in school once you’re in an adult environment can be misconstrued as “they don’t mind me doing it” which is most often not be the case.

A hard lesson to learn unfortunately. If the only public transport that gets you in before the start time means you’re early, then be early, or use the inconvenience as a motivating factor to save up for driving lessons, a car etc.

I think it pretty much says it all that DS only managed to turn up on time once, and that was after the employer emailed him that morning and told him to get an earlier train.

I suspect we’re talking about much more than one minute here though. And nothing makes for a toxic working environment faster than employees taking the piss and not being challenged. I worked flexible hours in my last two jobs. If you weren’t at your work station and ready to start by the start of core hours then you were recorded as late. Everyone knew what was expected of them and no-one bucked the system.

I was just responding to the info OP shared (1-5 minutes late.)

It's very different being a few minutes late to work when you've been there a while and already proved yourself. Your DS should have been on time from the outset, even if that means getting in too early.

And that's the lesson he should learn from this and take into his next job.

I’ve worked in a place where some employees had a formally agreed later start time because of their commute or child care arrangements but no one was allowed to just turn up late because they couldn’t get up earlier.

Is it possible your DS told them that the train he got was the earliest one possible - thus they were okay with a few mins late (likely expecting him to work extra at lunch or at the end of the day) but perhaps they then discovered that there was an earlier train? Possibly another employee travels from the same place and gets there on time? Was your DS working extra at lunch or at the end of the day?

Also there is a big difference between something being formally agreed and just letting something slide in the hope and reasonable expectation that the employee will get their act together.

Yeah, that’s how l took it too, but in practice, l would think walking through the door at 1-5 minutes late necessarily means several more minutes while you sort yourself out to actually start work. On occasion l think it’s fine if it’s unavoidable, but it’d be unworkable on a regular basis.

And also being a few minutes late due to unavoidable delays is very different to being late every day because you either can’t get out of bed in time, or it’s never crossed your mind to get a earlier train.

The thing is you only have his word for this. It would be understandable for him to down play it. You can’t really know all the details. You feel aggrieved for your boy, but he is no longer a boy. Relax and let it be a lesson learned for him.

I know you think its nasty if people tell you the truth. It should be commonsense that if you start work at 9 you get there 15 mins early to get yourself organised and ready to start work at 9. Getting into work late everyday just isnt done unless you've been there for years and have a proven track record. There are so many parents who think their kids are so wonderful the whole world is going to agree, sadly the world doesnt give a fuck about your DS. They probably were understanding on day 1 but expected yr adult son to work out that he needed to get an earlier train. Your entitlement is breathtaking. He was on his probation period they can sack him without cause I dont think getting outraged and upset on his behalf is helpful you are just reinforcing and enabling his entitlement.