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 there is an earlier train, why didn’t he get that one from the start?

Because either he doesn"t know any better or is just taking the piss. OP said he had another job previously for 2 years, why did he move on from that job?

I'm assuming your comment is to the OP because when speaking to Citizens Advice they explain this.

On the other hand though I feel like the OP has left out significant details and it's hard to say whether he would be or not. For instance does he have a disability that he would of or should of declared when he was employed that the employer hasn't considered - that the lateness can be tied to. Getting a later train might mean it takes them longer to get ready etc due to that disability. We just don't know.

He can be dismissed for any reason up to 2 years of service and if he's been late each day, that ground is fair to dismiss. He's unreliable. He accepted a job 40min away, it's his problem to get to work and if that means an earlier train, so be it.

I wouldn’t believe everything I’m told by a 19 year old! I would have been telling him to make sure he’s early for work ready to start on time. In any case it’s his issue he’s an adult and maybe a lesson for him

Well, it appears we shall never be privy to the full tale, given that the OP has executed a rather theatrical disappearance.

One can only assume she is presently marinating in her own embarrassment.

😂

Too many young people are ignorant about how work actually works, their parents haven't told them and they fail to figure it out themselves despite clear opportunity to do so. No you can't come in late every day. Yes work is often boring, that's why they pay you to be there instead of the other way round.

She's not replying to this thread... What's the point now

She’s probably molly coddling diddums at home. And ignoring all the nasty vipers on MN.

Nah, she’s stormed off and is mad at all of us for being so wrong.

Exactly this. I work in a university and it’s amazing how many parents phone up shouting and screaming about how little support their kid has got and it turns out they’ve had unbelievable amounts of support, just didn’t tell parents as they didn’t bother turning up to any appointments

We had a junior doctor in my department who was ridiculously precious. His girlfriend used ring the nurses station saying “could I speak to Dr X, I’m his girlfriend” as a way to mark her territory- she needn’t have worried, he was such a dick that nobody would have wanted him. His mummy rang up payroll once, shouting and swearing about his overtime not having been paid and how he was depending on that overtime money for his spending money on upcoming holiday etc. Turns out mummy’s dearest little prince hadn’t bothered submitting his timesheets by the deadline for payment, hence he wasn’t paid. When this was imparted to mummy, she said that as he was a doctor he had far more important things to be doing than submitting timesheets on schedule and asked did we not realise how lucky we were to have him working for us. It caused much hilarity on the ward and certainly did him no favours in terms of credibility or popularity.

If you have a holiday booked before you get a new job (many people book holidays months and months in advance) then the employer has to allow you the time for it. Standard practice and obviously happens all the time.

Common sense would have been to get the earlier train from day one of employment. of course they aren’t being unreasonable.

Employers routinely ask at the interview stage if holiday are booked but they don’t have to honour them. It depends on how keen they are to take you on.

I suspect there’s more to this than just being “a few minutes late because of the trains”. He was probably shit too.

OP's gone now.

That’s the most mortifying thing over ever read. Hilarious

It’s noticeable if it every day. I have someone in my team who was consistently a few minutes late - I’ve had a word, and suddenly she’s on time every day!

Remember the recent poster who was so amazed that someone had reported her to the H.A. for playing loud music in her garden? I wonder if she and this poster are sisters - both have this wide-eyed 'innocence' of how the world works. 'How should I know that playing loud music outside would be a nuisance?' 'How should I know you have to be on time for work?' Someone Should Have Told Me.

Quite the absurdity.

I had hoped the OP would reappear and kindly provide an update for the rest of us.
😂

Whilst it is obvious that OP has left this thread to sulk/ mollycoddle her 19 year old baby, can I just point out that there are many wonderful, motivated and hard working young people out there experiencing a shit world and jobs market through no fault of their own. So all the 'youth today', 'this generation' comments are very unfair and unjust towards a whole generation. Especially a generation that have been totally screwed by their seniors and who we need to bloody fund our pensions and health and social care.

Wow some of these comments are awful. You said he was only a minute or two late. Personally I would have thought this was acceptable if they said it was ok and he agreed to work those few minutes at lunchtime or after the usual finish time. I think most people would have taken the person at their word and if they said it was ok believed them. I guess that’s a lesson for next time - if something similar crops up - to get it in writing and for him to specifically get permission. As others have said, it might be that one person agreed but another person wasn’t happy and they’ve likely had a catch on”how’s he getting in?” whilst he’s been away. A more senior person has perhaps overruled the person who said it was ok.

Make sure he gets the right salary with his notice period etc although I guess he’s probably taken more holiday than he’s entitled to (but that’s just an unfortunate situation having booked a holiday and the timings of starting work).

I think it is really important in this to consider how many trains are running. If there’s a train 10 minutes earlier then he needed to catch that, but if it’s an hour earlier and he would have arrived 55 minute early most mornings then an agreement to be a minute or two late would be more reasonable perhaps. Maybe discuss this at the interview if he’s applying for jobs in the same city and likely to arrive a bit late. He should have agreed to work the missed time even if it’s a few minutes each day. If that didn’t fit in with trains, he could have asked about working the whole lost time on a single day or something. Best to get agreement at interview and discuss what happens if the train is late, or certainly on the first day of work.

As others have said, he/you probably cannot do much as they can get rid of anyone in their probation period for no real reason. I’m sorry he’s lost his job and I’d be annoyed too. I hope he gets sorted.

I’ve always worked at organisations where I have flexi time so I guess I don’t quite understand this. All my workplaces have been really flexible although I did do a part-time retail job in sixth form, got agreement to be late from the shop manager one day as I had an A level exam that finished late and I knew I’d struggle to get there in time, I rushed there after my exam, arrived 3-4 minutes late and was laid into by the area manager. I was only young and didn’t get a chance to even tell him I had permission to be late. I was so upset in floods of tears. Some managers can just be awful. In all my “proper” jobs including my current job (after the retail one), I could/can just turn up when I wanted as long as I work the core hours (10-12 and 2-4) and work the right number of hours per week / month. University, local authority and NHS jobs generally have flexible working. More difficult to get sacked for nothing too in the public sector!

Goox luck. Hope he gets sorted with a better job soon. Maybe take it as a blessing. It perhaps wasn’t the best place to work.

As an adult he should be able to get to work on time. From the point of view of an employer (and the other employees), he would be the newbie who is taking the piss.

Good point about the holiday though - he will probably have had it as unpaid as many places don’t give paid leave until you have accrued it.

If he can’t be arsed to be on time then a flexi job is obviously the answer but it doesn’t sound like he’s grown up enough to do that yet.

Actually given the state the op got into when challenged, I think the company are much better off without him.

I think you've missed the almost throw away line from the op "they asked him to come in on time, so he got the earlier train " so there was a train to get him to work on time, he was just too lazy to get up earlier to catch it! He was late every day. Thats every single day.