For most employees, there will be occasions when arriving at work on time is derailed by traffic, a broken-down car, family dramas or just sleeping through the alarm. Contingencies can be put in place to manage such events.
However, are you in a situation where one employee is consistently late?
Before addressing the issue directly with the employee, you should ensure there is a section in your Employee Handbook, such as a Code of Conduct, making clear to staff that punctuality is important and that persistent lateness, without good cause, may be treated as misconduct under the Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.
You should address the situation early and informally, by meeting with the employee and drawing the policy to their attention. This will also provide an opportunity to explore any underlying reasons for the persistent lateness, for example, childcare issues or caring responsibilities, or perhaps the employee has a medical condition which makes early morning starts problematic. Such factors could trigger an employer’s duties under the Equality Act to consider reasonable adjustments, or to consider a request for flexible working.
Practical tips for resolving a lateness problem can also include setting goals for the employee, checking in regularly to ensure they can confide in you as an employer, rewarding improvements, maintaining records of interactions, suggesting a clock-in system, scheduling meetings at the start of each day and integrating punctuality into the employee’s performance review.
If attempts to resolve the issue informally fail and after making any required reasonable adjustments or dealing with any flexible working request, then disciplinary action can be initiated under your Disciplinary Procedures. It may be that a first written warning deals with the issue, but if not, provided a fair procedure is followed, a series of cumulative disciplinary warnings could lead to a fair dismissal. Legal advice should be sought before reaching that point.
