Table of Contents
If you’re a business owner, there’s no doubt that late staff members are one of the most frustrating parts of your day. Even though it may seem like an easy fix, handling tardiness is something that all companies should tackle head-on.
The “sample memo to employees regarding tardiness” is a document that will help you deal with employee tardiness. This template includes information about what to do if an employee is late, how to handle the situation, and what you can expect from your company.
The way you handle employee tardiness as a company might have far-reaching consequences for more than simply the late employee. Allowing excessive tardiness may result in more turnover, worse company efficiency, and lower employee morale. Setting clear expectations for your staff by implementing time monitoring, collecting records, and conveying a clear policy. Your workforce should understand that being late on a regular basis has repercussions, and even little mishaps may have an impact on other workers and the company’s Conclusion.
This guide will give you the tools you need to effectively improve your company’s culture and hold your employees accountable for their arrival times. We’ve included a free warning letter form that you can customize and use if you have workers that need to be penalized for excessive tardiness.
Template may be downloaded.
How to Deal with Late Employees
Make your attendance policy known.
Your organization should have an attendance policy that specifies working hours and when workers are expected to arrive. A section on tardiness, what is acceptable and what is not, shall be included in this policy. It is critical to communicate this policy to your team in order to achieve alignment. It’s simpler to hold your staff responsible if there’s a pattern of bad conduct when they know what’s expected of them.
Your attendance policy should include the following information:
- Hours of operation
- When an employee is going to be late, who should you call?
- How to Keep Time Correctly
- A reasonable time frame for an employee to arrive at work.
- Lateness has repercussions.
Make it obvious when expressing your policy that tardiness causes problems for everyone. If one employee is late, it may force other workers to cover for them, causing them to miss work. If this is a new policy for your organization, it’s critical to emphasize this point since some workers may be unaware that their actions have repercussions.
Have a system in place to track your time.
You’ll need a solid and easy-to-use time tracking system to maintain accurate records of when workers arrive and exit. You’ll get extensive reporting if you use a good time tracking system. Reporting on your employee’s tardiness on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis can rapidly reveal any issues that need to be addressed.
Your workers may punch in and out from their laptops or phones using an electronic timekeeping system. You may also set the app on their phone to only operate when they are within a certain distance of your building. This ensures that the punches are accurate and that you are aware of any workers that have a history of being late.
Keep track of everything.
Records are preserved automatically with your electronic timekeeping system. These sensitive documents are visible to both you and the particular employee, and either of you may view them. Even if you aren’t present when the employee arrives, you can still tell if they are late by checking the system.
It is critical to keep track of these records in order to maintain correct discipline. You have facts to back up your viewpoint when having a difficult talk with an employee regarding tardiness. You may seem to have an opinion or perspective that the employee is late without offering any evidence if you don’t have the data. Employees may feel attacked rather than supported as a result of this.
Management should keep track of any warnings or other disciplinary measures, as well as notes on attendance, in a personnel file.
Establish the Consequences
Include a short overview of the repercussions for workers who are late on a regular basis in your policy. However, before you can design that policy, you must first assess what the implications will be for your firm. Two essential parts are suggested: 1) a three-strikes system; and 2) gradual punishment.
Employees are disciplined in progressive phases utilizing progressive punishment. The following is an example of a tardy employee’s punishment progression:
- First offense: The employee meets with their boss and HR to explain their actions and how they are affecting the rest of the organization.
- Second offense: Issue a written warning and ask the employee to meet with their manager to discuss practical ways to address the habit of late.
- Suspension and potential termination for the third offense
It may seem harsh to fire an employee for being late a few times, which is why we recommend including a three-strikes rule and establishing your own rules for what is acceptable in your company. If an employee goes through these consequences once, they will incur sanctions but not lose their job, as seen in the example above. They will be terminated if they have passed through these levels of punishment three times in a short period of time, such as a rolling six-month period.
They were given several opportunities to modify their conduct but failed to do so. It’s evident that they don’t care about the rules or the influence their actions have on their coworkers, and they might be fired as a result. You can develop a policy that is fair to workers while holding them responsible for bad conduct if you keep these guidelines in mind.
Take immediate action
Everyone is late now and then. There are times when traffic is congested, public transit is delayed, or an alarm does not sound. These things are guaranteed to happen a couple times a year. When it becomes a routine, though, it may quickly escalate into a much more serious and costly issue. It is your responsibility as a boss to speak out and put a stop to this conduct straight now.
How to Assist Employees in Getting Rid of Laziness
To address dwindling staff morale and declining productivity, you must act quickly. Your answer should not be harsh, but it should specifically address the problem with instances of the employee’s tardiness.
Keep It Private and Communicate
While it’s important for other employees to understand that tardiness isn’t tolerated, you don’t want to reprimand an employee in front of others. Any HR conversation like this should take place in private and be kept secret.
You want to make it plain that breaking business rules is unacceptable, but you also don’t want to come off as too harsh—your employee may be dealing with personal concerns you’re unaware of. It’s better to start with simple inquiries.
Simply inquire as to why an employee has been late for multiple days in a row. They might be dealing with personal concerns or a medical condition that prevents them from getting to work on time.
While we want you to ask questions and be helpful, you must be cautious not to break any employment regulations. In the case of an employee’s recent tardiness, you might inquire as to whether they have a medical problem that is causing them to be late and hurting their ability to do their work. Rather of prying, use open-ended inquiries to encourage the person to speak.
For your convenience, here are some questions to avoid:
- Are you expecting a child?
- What health problems do you have?
- Is it possible for me to view your most recent medical diagnosis?
- Do you have any medicines that cause you to get drowsy?
The easiest technique to inquire about the employee’s tardy habit is to: Do you have a medical or personal problem that prevents you from getting to work on time? You may prevent the impression of prejudice by clearly connecting an otherwise banned medical query to a basic work need (punctuality).
Define the corrective actions that will be taken.
Correcting the behavior requires getting to the root of the problem. Discussing how you can assist your employee can make them feel supported and encourage them to take remedial action.
Work with your employee to Define the corrective actions that will be taken., providing reasonable timelines and support. This might look like:
This example demonstrates how to communicate clearly with your employee about what is expected of them and how they may change their conduct. You make it clear what will happen if the employee fails to meet your expectations by laying out the consequences.
Give the employee a list of expectations, but also have a conversation with them. If an employee is suffering a personal difficulty, work with them to find a solution. Discuss flexible work possibilities with them if they have a medical concern.
Document everything, regardless of the consequence. If this employee’s tardiness has been an issue, make sure you record the precise days and times the individual was late, as well as the remedial steps you and the employee agreed on. Make a note of a date to check in on their progress.
Examine the Employee’s Performance
Reviewing data with the employee once a month is an excellent idea. Reconvene with your employee once the time limit you established has expired. Recognize their better conduct if they have decreased the frequency of their tardiness.
If the employee’s conduct hasn’t changed, it’s time to move on to the next phase in your progressive punishment system. If there has been an ongoing practice, this might be a last warning or termination. If it’s the latter, double-check that you’ve properly recorded everything. Terminating an employee, particularly one who may be late due to a medical condition, should be done with caution and after consulting with an employment attorney.
Why Should Employee Tardiness Be Addressed?
While dealing with employee tardiness isn’t always pleasant, it’s a necessary dialogue to avoid even the appearance of maltreatment. Regular communication and check-ins are essential for ensuring that your staff are on the same page. These discussions may also help you identify any personal issues your staff is having that are contributing to their tardiness.
It’s possible that the team’s morale may deteriorate.
Employees pay attention to what their coworkers are doing. Whether I was in charge of a team, every employee sat in a bullpen, so it was obvious to everyone when someone came late or departed early. It was also evident that if I didn’t handle the problem right once, it would be detrimental to team morale.
One of the most serious issues about employee tardiness is that other workers would perceive favoritism or an unenforced regulation. In any case, when even one person has a habit of tardiness that goes unchecked by management, team morale might suffer.
If a 22-person workplace opens at 9 a.m. and Amanda frequently comes between 9:10 and 9:30 a.m., the other workers will notice and one of two things will happen. Either:
- Other staff, like Amanda, will begin to arrive late.
- Other colleagues will be irritated that Amanda gets away with being late and will become less concerned about their job.
In either case, you’re dealing with an issue that has to be solved. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away, and will likely result in more lost productivity and more turnover.
It’s possible that business efficiency may suffer.
A reduction in production is linked to team morale since unhappy or disengaged personnel are less productive. Unhappiness at work has a direct impact on an employee’s productivity, according to a research published in Frontiers in Psychology. A disgruntled employee is more prone to develop negative behaviors, such as being late.
In two ways, tardiness may impair your company’s efficiency and, as a result, your Conclusion. For starters, if one employee routinely arrives late and you do nothing to rectify the situation, other workers may grow upset, and their productivity may suffer as a result. Second, those other workers are now disengaged, and they may adopt negative habits of their own, such as being late.
It’s possible that burnout is at blame.
When most people think of burnout, they think of entrepreneurs who work around the clock, are consumed with their company, and can’t turn off their brain.
Any employee may experience burnout, which is a medical illness recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to a Gallup poll from 2018, 23% of workers felt “very frequently or constantly” burnt out.
Burnout is a complicated condition that originates from a variety of personal and professional issues. What method to take with the employee depends on the reason of the tardiness. Discipline by itself will not help if the problem is burnout. This may cause the employee to become disengaged and late more often.
To successfully manage tardiness with a burned-out employee, you must provide assistance and assist them in identifying the source of their burnout. It’s not that you shouldn’t discipline those who have a habit of being late; it’s simply that it shouldn’t be the only thing you do.
It’s possible that this is a case of discrimination.
And here’s why you shouldn’t completely avoid discipline: it might lead to employee discrimination. What you do for one, do for all, as I often teach managers.
You may be breaking anti-discrimination regulations if you punish certain workers for being late but not others. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against workers based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Even if you do it accidentally, it’s illegal and might lead to employee lawsuits and penalties from the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (EEOC).
Employees that arrive late in the age of COVID-19
You would expect every employee to be on time, every time if you manage staff who work from home due to the epidemic or if you have a policy that allows for flexible work hours. There’s no traffic to contend with, no public transportation delays, and just a few feet separate you from your bed and your computer.
Despite this, some workers are still unable to log in on time. Can you hold somebody responsible for being late when they aren’t physically present? Yes. To demonstrate this concept, let’s travel back a few years, before the COVID-19 pandemic:
The Seventh Circuit in Chicago issued a decision in the United States Court of Appeals. Because of health concerns, an employee was allowed to work from home, but virtually every time they did, they clocked in late and forgot to alert their boss.
The employee claimed that timeliness was not required for her job, as indicated by her employer’s willingness to enable her to work from home. According to the Seventh Circuit, a “employer is typically authorized to regard regular attendance as an important employment requirement and need not accommodate inconsistent or unreliable attendance,”
This has the following implications for you: Allowing workers to work from home does not negate your company’s authority to define business hours and hold employees responsible for being present during those hours. In other words, regardless of where an individual works, attendance is still an important part of their employment.
So we know that even with a scattered workforce, attendance standards can still be enforced. Let’s take a look at this today, in the era of COVID-19, and see whether you should punish an employee who is absent from work due to the COVID-19 pandemic for violating your attendance policy.
As long as the employee is not absent due to a covered illness under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you may consider them to have broken the attendance policy and penalize them accordingly. You cannot, however, punish an employee who is late because of an FMLA-covered issue.
Is It Appropriate to Discipline Employees for Health-Related Lateness?
While these are the “book” answers, in some cases, we propose adopting a more forgiving approach. Disciplining a large number of workers might lead to the termination of a significant section of the workforce. This establishes a negative tone and will take a significant amount of time for you to go through the disciplinary processes.
You could be concerned that this creates a hazardous precedent, enabling other workers to claim that their absences should not be included. You are perfectly within your rights to continue holding other absences to your tight policy as long as you consistently apply and explain this leniency to COVID-19-related absences exclusively.
Conclusion
Dealing with employee tardiness may be awkward, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. When you speak with workers as soon as their late arrivals become a problem, you may avoid other employees from disengaging and the organization from becoming an inefficient culture. You risk losing income and quality personnel if you don’t respond quickly to tardiness. Everyone is happier, more productive, and lucrative when action is taken quickly.
“Plan for improvement for tardiness” is a term that employees often use to describe their plan when an employee is late. It’s up to the manager to decide if it’s necessary or not. Reference: plan for improvement for tardiness.
Related Tags
- letter to employees regarding time clock
- sample notice of tardiness
- verbal warning for tardiness
- sample memo to employees on attendance
- excessive tardiness meaning
