What Do I Do if My Employee is Always Late?

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Table of Contents

• 1. Implement Policies
• 2. Talk to Your Employee
• 3. Take Disciplinary Action
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions 

​​As an employer, you may face situations where your employee consistently arrives late to work. In these circumstances, you should ask yourself if your employee’s lateness impacts your business. For some workplaces, lateness could be a minor problem, and your employee might otherwise be a productive worker who simply needs a reminder about the importance of arriving to work on time. On the other hand, lateness could be a significant issue that you must resolve because it affects your business’ operations. In any event, this article explains three steps you can take when your employee is always arriving to work late.

1. Implement Policies

The first proactive step you can take to manage lateness and absenteeism is to implement policies and procedures that outline: 

• your rules regarding lateness (including any applicable lee-way rules);
• why it is important to your business that employees arrive on time;
• the consequences of consistently being late;
• potential disciplinary actions; and
• the reporting procedure if your employee is running late.

If your employee has contravened your workplace policy or has no legitimate reason for arriving late to work, their continued lateness can be a disciplinary issue you are entitled to manage.

2. Talk to Your Employee

Secondly, you may consider informally counselling your employee to assist them in better understanding your expectations around arriving on time for work.

You should:

• clearly set out the lateness issue;
• point them to any relevant policies which set out your expectations regarding lateness and absenteeism;
• explain what improved behaviour you expect from your employee; and 
• explain that further unauthorised lateness may result in disciplinary action.

Further to the warning, you should hold a meeting with your employee to discuss the issue. After all, you may be unaware of the underlying cause of your employee’s lateness. For example, they may have carers responsibilities that prevent them from arriving to work on time. 

In your meeting with your employee, you should:

• raise your concerns about your employee’s lateness;
• emphasise why all your employees must arrive on time and the negative impact that lateness has on your business and other employees;
• allow your employee to respond and explain if there is a reason for their lateness;
• inform your employee that there might be disciplinary consequences if they continue to be late, such as warnings or eventually termination of their employment; and
• direct them to be on time in the future.

3. Take Disciplinary Action

If your employee continues arriving late to work after talking to them, you may decide to commence a formal disciplinary process. 

Your employee will usually be given written notice to attend a meeting to discuss the lateness issue, and this letter should set out the issues to be discussed and warn the employee of the potential disciplinary outcomes of this process.

Possible outcomes of the meeting may include:

• a verbal warning;
• a written warning;
• training; or
• termination. 

To avoid a claim for unfair dismissal, ensure that you have:

• notified your employee that there is a performance issue due to their consistent lateness; 
• provided them with an opportunity to respond to your warning and improve their conduct; and 
• warned your employee of the potential disciplinary actions you may take if their performance does not improve, including termination of their employment.

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Key Takeaways

It can be challenging to deal with an employee who is always late to work. If your employee consistently arrives late to work, you should:

• implement policies to address lateness and absenteeism;
• discuss the lateness issue with your employee;
• manage the problem by undertaking formal or informal monitoring; and 
• if their performance has not improved, take disciplinary action.

If you need help managing a late employee, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions