How should HR handle tardy employees?

Employees being punctual and turning up to work on time is a vital part of any business functioning properly. However, sometimes you can’t help being late for work. Things happen and disasters strike when we least expect them.

Throughout the month of November, issues with public transport was the most used reason (20%) for employees reporting late to work, according to a poll by BrightHR.

“Being stuck in traffic” came in second (16%) as the most used response for being late.

Surprisingly nearly 10% of HR professionals cited that employees had slept in or slept through their alarm as a reason for being late to work. This could be a sign of staff being burnt out due to not taking their required rest or leaves.

Throughout November there were some excuses that were flagged up as ‘out of the ordinary’:

- The employee “needed a long walk”

- The employee “had to go to Primark to get fishnet tights”

- The employee was “fixing their pet snake’s heating system”

- The employee “saw a bus driver purposely drive through a puddle to soak him” and had to go home and get changed

“We advise employers that prevention is the best tactic when it comes to reducing employee lateness,” said Alastair Brown, chief technological officer at BrightHR.

“Employers should ensure they have implemented an up-to-date policy regarding employee conduct and a procedure for notifying someone when an employee is going to be late.

“However, honesty is the best policy when it comes to employees reporting lateness, as lying will reduce trust within the business, as one employer found out when it was logged that an employee said: ‘he had been stuck in traffic but he walked in with a McDonalds’.”