We’re all late from time to time; it is part of life. From being delayed in traffic, broken down cars and even sleeping through an alarm, we’ve all been there! Show
In a survey conducted by the Heathrow Express, employee lateness costs the UK economy around £9 billion a year. Traffic caused by road works (41%) was the leading cause of tardiness, closely followed by public transport delays (29%), unforeseen circumstances (25%), torrid weather (18%), sleeping through an alarm (14%) and leaving something behind (12%). But as an employer, punctual employees that are strong and passionate are critical to productivity as well as your overall success. One of the most common problems business owners and managers find impacts on the effectiveness of the company is employee lateness. Though managers assume staff members will occasionally be late, if employees begin to be late for work regularly , then actions need to be taken to protect the company and to improve the work ethic amongst the team. Why do you need to deal with a persistently late employee?As an employer, you expect staff members to be late every now and then. However, managers and employers cannot accept a situation where an employee is continually late for work, simply because this acceptance will only compound the situation and make it worse. If you notice that a staff member is persistently arriving late, this should be dealt with accordingly. Otherwise, the employee in question may think that this is not an issue and start turning up late even more. Furthermore, the late employee’s actions may even make other staff members consider why they are bothering to arrive at work on time, causing other late employees. And the problem might not end there. Displaying acceptance of an employee’s persistent lateness may cause them to become more relaxed with other company policies, and you may find that the overall quality of work and work ethic of the team decreases. At the end of the day, managers pay their staff for their time, and they request staff to work specific hours to ensure that all the work can be completed. Therefore, an employee that is continually late is effectively stealing time from the company. A late employee may start to fall behind on their work and either rush things, or leave them uncompleted. In addition, persistent employee lateness may cause tension between colleagues, as the team members who work alongside them may end up having to do more work in order to cover for their colleague causing some resentment and ill-feeling. Teams work most effectively when they work closely together and communicate well, so the overall effectiveness of the team may be compromised.
How can you deal with employee lateness?There are no hard and fast rules for dealing with someone who is always late.Every manager is different, as is every employee and their personal situation. However, with this being said, there are some steps that you should take if you want to deal with a late employee and help them improve their punctuality at work. A lateness policy in its own right might be considered excessive, but a section on lateness could be incorporated into existing policies and procedures covering Absence Management or Time and Attendance, for example. The policy should include: – The standard expected of employees: details of working hours, highlighting that employees should be ready and prepared to start work as soon as their shift is scheduled to start. – The procedure for reporting lateness: if an employee knows they’re going to be late, who should they report this to? – Details of how working time will be tracked and recorded: do you use timesheets or do employees need to physically clock in when on-site? – If applicable, provide details on how employees can make up the time they have lost from arriving late. – A comment on the potential disciplinary action which could be taken for persistent lateness. – A comment that lateness should be avoided as it is disruptive for everyone. Make sure any new policies or updates to your procedure are communicated to all employees and implemented fairly throughout the entire company. If this is something new to your company or if you have a particular problem with employee lateness, then consider running brief workshops for employees to attend in order to highlight the impact of lateness, go through the procedures with them and provide an opportunity for questions. Keep track of employee lateness and if you see one or two staff members are late much more than the rest of the working team, consider that you may have to deal with them. Keeping records means you will be able to use them as evidence when you speak to the employee in question, showing them facts rather than voicing your opinion about their tardiness.
Do not wait until you are angry and annoyed, or the rest of the team are feeling annoyed. Speak to the late employee before you get to this stage to help avoid it getting to that point. Schedule a meeting with the employee in question and in the interim, collate all the information you have regarding their working times, instances of lateness and reasons etc. While important for you to broach the topic with an employee that is always late, be conscious of their privacy. Take them to one side to discuss their lateness rather than confronting them and voicing your concerns in the main office which may cause embarrassment. There may be a sensitive or personal reason for their lateness, so approach the conversation with compassion and give them the chance to take in your concerns and say their piece. Recognising changed or improved behaviours, no matter how minor, should be reinforced. Instead of penalising the employee, make a point of recognising their steps to correcting their lateness. Your employee will know the reasons why they are consistently late, so in theory, they should know the ways they can remedy them. How to raise the issue of an employee’s latenessWhen meeting with the late employee try to remain calm, do not make it personal and avoid getting angry. Speak through your concerns over their lateness, present them with evidence and refer back to your company’s policy on employee lateness. Explain that you want to understand what is causing their lateness and find out if there’s something you could help with. Try to understand whether they If you have any personal problems, medical issues or any other reasons which might be causing them to be late. Remember to bear in mind any potential issues which could arise through discrimination and any adjustments which could reasonably be made by the company in order to support the employee. Updated: Feb 2020
Read our fact sheet about ending employment. Download the fact sheet: What is termination of employment?Termination of employment is when an employee’s employment with an employer ends. Employment can end for many different reasons. An employee may resign or can be dismissed (fired). However it ends, it’s important to follow the rules about dismissal, notice and final pay. There are also different rights and obligations when a job is made redundant or when a business is bankrupt. Commonwealth workplace laws have rules about terminating employment. These rules establish whether the termination of the employment was unlawful or unfair, what entitlements an employee is owed at the end of their employment, and what must be done when an employee is dismissed because of redundancy. The Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission regulate Commonwealth workplace laws about terminating employment. The Fair Work Ombudsman is responsible for:
The Fair Work Commission deals with:
If you have lost your job, contact the Fair Work Commission first if you think you were sacked because of:
What is an unfair dismissal?Unfair dismissal is when an employee is dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner. The Fair Work Commission may consider an employee has been unfairly dismissed if:
What is harsh, unjust or unreasonable?The Fair Work Commission will decide if a dismissal is harsh, unjust or unreasonable, and they consider all of the following circumstances:
Who can apply?Employees covered by the national workplace relations system can apply to the Fair Work Commission for unfair dismissal if they have been terminated by their employer, or forced to resign because of something the employer did, and they have worked the minimum employment period. Minimum Employment period:
(If there was a change of business ownership, service with the first employer may count as service with the second employer when calculating the minimum employment period). To be eligible employees must also be:
For more information and to check if you are eligible to lodge an unfair dismissal application, take the Fair Work Commission’s unfair dismissal eligibility quiz .Employees have to apply to the Commission within 21 calendar days of the dismissal taking effect. If you think you have been unfairly dismissed you need to contact the Commission as soon as possible. Visit the Commission website to learn more about unfair dismissal and find out how to lodge the application form.The Fair Work Ombudsman does not investigate unfair dismissal complaints. What is the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code?Small businesses have different rules for dismissal which are set out in the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code (the Code). A small business is any business with fewer than 15 employees calculated on a simple headcount of all employees who are employed on a regular and systematic basis. The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code provides protection for small business employers against unfair dismissal claims, where an employer follows the Code. The Fair Work Commission will deem a dismissal to be fair if the employer follows the Code and can provide evidence of this. Download the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and checklist What is an unlawful termination?Unlawful termination is when an employee is dismissed by their employer for one or more of the following reasons:
Generally, employees are protected from unlawful termination under the General Protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. However, all employees are protected from unlawful termination. The Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate unlawful termination complaints. For more information on general protections, including who they apply to, please see the Fair Work Ombudsman Fact Sheet – Protections at work. If you think you have been unlawfully dismissed you need to contact the Fair Work Commission as soon as possible. Employees have to apply to the Commission within 21 calendar days of the dismissal taking effect. To check if you are eligible to lodge a general protections dismissal application, take the Fair Work Commission’s general protections eligibility quiz .To check if you are eligible to lodge an unlawful termination application, and for more information about unlawful termination go to the Fair Work Commission website Should an employee be given notice of termination?Generally, an employer must not terminate an employee’s employment unless they have given the employee written notice of the last day of employment. An employer can either let the employee work through their notice period, or pay it out to them (also known as pay in lieu of notice). The amount of notice depends on the age of the employee and how long they have been employed on a continuous basis by the employer. For more information on notice of termination, including the minimum notice period which must be given to an employee, and any exceptions, please see the Fair Work Ombudsman Fact Sheet – Notice of termination and redundancy pay. What entitlements should be paid on termination?When an employment relationship ends, employees should receive the following entitlements in their final pay:
If an employee has taken leave in advance and their employment ends before they’ve accrued it all back, the employer can deduct the amount still owing from the employee’s final pay. If an employee believes that they have not been paid for all of their entitlements when their employment ends, the Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate and take action to make sure that all entitlements are paid. An employer can be liable to penalties in excess of $13,000 per breach (for an individual) and $66,000 per breach (for a company) if they have not complied with their obligations under relevant Commonwealth workplace laws. Penalty amounts are subject to change. You can check the current maximum penalties at fairwork.gov.au/litigation. RedundancyWhat is redundancy?Redundancy occurs when an employer either decides they no longer need an employee’s job to be done by anyone, or the employer becomes insolvent or bankrupt, and terminates their employment. The job itself, not the employee, becomes redundant. Redundancy can happen when the business:
What redundancy pay might be payable?An employee covered by the national workplace relations system, who has at least one year of continuous service and who works for an employer that employs 15 or more employees may be entitled to redundancy or severance payments (to a maximum of 16 weeks’ pay) under the National Employment Standards (NES). Who doesn't get redundancy pay?Some employees don’t get redundancy payments when their job is made redundant. The following employees don’t get redundancy pay:
There are special arrangements for employees whose employment transfers when the business they work for is sold. Find out more on our When businesses change owners page. Employees of small businessesA small business is one that employs fewer than 15 employees. Some small businesses don’t have to pay redundancy pay when making an employee redundant. To work out if the business is a small business, count:
The size of the business is counted the earliest of:
Awards can specify other situations in which redundancy pay does not apply to the termination of an employee’s employment. For more information on redundancy pay, please see the Fair Work Ombudsman Fact Sheet – Notice of termination and redundancy pay. Source reference: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) sections 121 and 123 What happens if my employer goes bankrupt or into liquidation?Sometimes businesses shut down because they aren't profitable or run out of money. This can mean that employees lose their jobs, and in some cases, the employer may not be able to pay them the wages and entitlements they are owed. When a business is bankrupt, also known as going into liquidation or insolvency, employees can get help through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG). The FEG, previously known as the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme or GEERS, is available to eligible employees to help them get their unpaid entitlements. This can include:
It doesn’t include:
For more information visit the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations FEG webpage or call the FEG Hotline on 1300 135 040. The Fair Work Ombudsman can assist, learn how we will help if entitlements haven’t been paid during voluntary administration. Redundancy and unfair dismissalGenuine redundancy is not considered unfair dismissal. A genuine redundancy is when:
When an employee's dismissal is a genuine redundancy the employee isn't able to make an unfair dismissal claim. A dismissal is not a genuine redundancy if the employer:
Contact usFair Work Online: www.fairwork.gov.au Fair Work Infoline: 13 13 94 Need language help?Contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50 Hearing and speech assistanceCall through the National Relay Service (NRS):
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