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.

It’s true though isn’t it. You probably posted a thread on here hoping to get people on your side so that they would egg you on to take things further.

No excuse for being late on purpose unfortunately. It’s not like the train got cancelled or delayed or he was stuck in traffic and his lateness was unavoidable. He was knowingly late so in my eyes taking the piss. The company decided they weren’t going to tolerate it when they realised he could just get an earlier train. I’m sure everyone else who works there made it to work on time.

Where is the ‘venom’ OP ? Posters are only reflecting what any employer would say. At 19 he should have taken the initiative and got an earlier train, regardless of what they said about it being OK. I can’t imagine any employer being ok with it on a permanent basis and not being at your work station ready to start at the appointed time, isn’t a great start - especially if it’s happening every day.

I've not seen any venomous comments, just people stating the obvious and not agreeing with you.
Report any venomous comments and reply to the rest

I was replying to the OP’s comment specifically…

in this case there is no chance they told him it was ok to be late every day.

It's up to him to work out the train timetables. Hopefully lesson learnt.

Thing is OP, it would have been fine I'm sure if there was no earlier train he could catch, but idk why he wouldn't take it, or why you won't say how much earlier it was ?

You posted on a forum asking people if you were being unreasonable. Did you not want people to reply honestly?

Why didn’t he take an earlier train as soon as he realised that he was going to be late every day because of an unreliable train service? Doesn’t come across as being very invested in keeping the job to be honest.

Sounds like he's had mixed messages (though maybe OP doesn't have the full story). Why didn't he get the earlier train from day 2? You need to create a good impression at the beginning of a job in particular.

My take on these kind of situations.

Employee is taken on in good faith
Employee is expected to get up to a reasonable working standard within a reasonable time
Employee is consistently late but cut a little slack because he is getting up to speed
Employee continues to be late and doesnt show much progress in getting up to speed. Maybe his attitude isnt very impressive (Not being late shows lack of respect)
Employer is still within a time frame to decide that it just isnt working out regardless.

Employer is fully within their rights to deem your son not worth the hastle. Maybe instead of pointing this towards the employer you should give your son a lesson in respecting your employers. Being on time and everything else a good employee should be. Dont be that parent.

@OneGreyBiscuit I don’t know your DS you do. But do you actually believe that they would actually tell him it was ok to come in a few minutes late everyday. Really!

This is at the heart of your issue, you feel they have gone back on an agreement. Was an agreement actually made?

New job a month ago, late everyday and already taken holiday? New workers need to show they are keen. This is not a good start.

I suspect what may have happened is he's said, I get the train so may be a little late and they've taken it to mean, things happen. Trains are sometimes late.
Not that he's choosing to take a train that means he's going to be late every day consistently. If he needed that as an adjustment he should have mentioned it in the interview.
It's unfortunate but he's young enough that it doesn't really matter, all the best to him going forward.

Who starts a new job and then turns up late every day? No wonder he got the sack. well deserved.

You’re just be nasty now.

Part of being an adult is being responsible with timekeeping.

I couldn’t just rock up late each day to school and say - well it’s only 1-5 minutes and I get the train.

Neither would you accept DS teachers doing that when he was at school and arriving on time.

This has to be a wind up?

Best be getting him a job where you work then, he'll fit right in.

Just imagine every other employee: been heer 20 years and never late, I have to get up at 6 why can't he?

Of course not, she wanted to play the victim on behalf of her son in the hope everyone would be on her side and the encourage her to take things further lol

Did they actually say they were OK with it? Or did he just get in late and assume they were OK with it?

I really cannot believe you don't see anything wrong with your son's timekeeping, he is bang out of order, he is not pulling his weight and his colleagues will not be happy about it, let alone the bosses.

Him living 40 minutes away is not his employer’s problem. They clearly are not as “okay” with lateness as your son let on!

You can get away with a wee bit if you've been with them for years.
The first month nah you've got to be peachy keen and give no cause for complaint.

I agree. I was let go from a job in a high end fashion shop (it was over 35 years ago so I’ll say, it was Mulberry when they were just starting to do clothes) six weeks into the 3 months probation as the manager said I was too ‘studious’ and they needed someone ‘bubbly’. To this day I really hate that descriptor. My face just didn’t fit.

When I first started work there was a bus that got in at 8.35 or another that got in at 8.55am. I always got the early one to allow for traffic etc. I know I’d have got a bollocking if I’d have turned in late every day and rightly so.

Most employers are reasonable so wouldn’t mind if you were a couple of minutes late every once in a while, but every day is taking the piss.