How should you deal with an employee's poor timekeeping?

Where an employee is late for work on one occasion without good reason, unless there are consequences for you and your organisation (for example, a deadline is missed or a client relationship is damaged), you may choose to overlook the incident or give the employee an informal warning.

And, generally, an informal warning is usually sufficient to address and rectify poor timekeeping.

However, if the poor timekeeping becomes regular, you should look to investigate the reason behind it.

If related to a personal problem at home, where appropriate, you should discuss with the employee whether or not you can take any steps to support them, making clear that the employee must still improve their timekeeping.

IMPORTANTLY you should bear in mind that, if the employee's poor timekeeping is related to a disability, there may be reasonable adjustments that you should make, such as allowing the employee to work flexible hours if they have a condition that sometimes causes drowsiness.

In cases where an informal approach does not resolve the problem, it will be appropriate for you to instigate their disciplinary procedure. If the problem persists following formal warnings, it may be appropriate for you to dismiss the employee.

You should deal with persistent lateness by employees consistently, to help to avoid allegations of unfair or discriminatory treatment.