How to manage consistent employee lateness

We've all encountered a colleague or employee who pushes the limits of their manager's patience.

They're either AWOL from work or turn up 10 minutes late without an explanation and ghost you whenever you call to find out where they are. But they're always out the door within seconds of their shift's end time, whether they've finished what they were doing or not.

While few employees would claim to be perfectly punctual and give 100% right up until the end of their shift, persistent lateness is less forgivable.

It's not only the employer who loses out.

Other employees will become frustrated with their colleague's tardiness. It might mean they have more work to do first thing, for example.

Clearly, it's important to deal with the culprits, but a heavy-handed approach to tackle employee lateness can cause more problems than it solves.

Let's break down how to manage employee lateness in five straightforward steps.

1. Prevention & policies

Prevention is always preferable to cure.

That applies to tardiness, too.

Although you won't be able to prevent every single case of chronic tardiness, you can certainly reduce the number of serial offenders!

Firstly, look at the recruitment process. Traffic problems and public transport delays are the most common reasons for lateness. So, in your job adverts, describe where the role might be commutable from.

You should also draw attention to the public transport available to new hires.

Will staff be required to have access to their own transport? Is the office within cycling or walking distance?

Even though this candid approach might lose you a few candidates, by setting expectations at an early stage, you might reduce the number of employees suffering from constant traffic problems in the future.

Next, at the final interview stage, discuss working hours with the candidates. This interview also presents the perfect opportunity to discuss flexible working opportunities.

Are hours negotiable? What are the core working hours? Will employees always be expected to work standard office hours, or only on certain occasions?

Don't expect employees to remember all this information.

Give them an employee handbook or a booklet of policies. Upload it to the company intranet, too.

It's important to have an action plan for late employees, where clear expectations and communication are first set. By setting expectations about the flexibility that your company allows, new hires will be less likely to turn up to work ten minutes late to their shift because they wrongly thought their manager wouldn't mind!

2. Identifying the problem

We're all late occasionally – but it's up to managers to determine when lateness becomes problematic.

One-offs such as unexpected diversions or last-minute doctor's appointments obviously shouldn't be a problem – particularly if the employee can call or text ahead to inform their manager of the delay.

However, if bad traffic or public transport issues occur at least weekly, you'll want to start looking more closely at the employee's circumstances.

Speak to them privately about their lateness. Perhaps they could try catching an earlier train for the next month to see if it improves things.

Alternatively, if the issue is with childcare or doing the school run, consider offering the employee flexible hours.

Only by identifying the problem can you work towards an effective solution.

3. Documentation & timesheets

If you're convinced that you have a genuine employee lateness problem on your hands, it's important to have the evidence to back-up your claims before disciplining your employee.

If your company uses timesheets, keep a close eye on them.

It might be a good idea to switch to a digital Time and Attendance system (we certainly know of a good one!) to reduce 'timesheet fraud' and make it easier to check individual time records to see which employees have made a habit of being late.

Never rely on a hunch or the word of another employee — don't take action against the employee until you have data on hand that backs up your argument.

Additionally, if the data lets you point to certain instances of lateness, you can ask employees why they were late on a particular day.

Aside from this time-based data, you may wish to document instances where operational difficulties arose because of employee lateness.

If you're able to show that a particular instance of lateness had a real impact on the business, the employee will understand the severity of the issue.

4. Communication & warnings

You've set out clear attendance expectations for your employees.

You've identified that an individual has a recurring problem with getting to work on time.

You have the figures in front of you to back up your hunch, and you know that the employee's behaviour has affected the business.

An informal discussion hasn't made a difference.

Now it's time to sit down with the employee and discuss the issue more seriously.

During this meeting, explain the situation. Allow the employee to give their side.

Next, state the level of improvement you expect to see over the next month or so. Perhaps you want them to be no more than five minutes late across the period, or be on time for 95% of their shifts.

Reiterate the impacts that their lateness has had on the business, and outline the consequences of non-improvement. Give them a written warning.

In a follow-up meeting, review the employee's progress.

If they improved to the standards you asked for, great - thank the employee, ask them to keep it up - and keep one eye on their future timesheets.

If they didn't make the improvements required, explain that you will have to consider dismissal or suspensions if they are unable to improve to the standards you previously detailed.

Again, you must give the employee the chance to tell their side of the story - perhaps there was a particularly bad spell of wintry weather that had an impact on the attendance of all the staff, or a family member had been suffering from a serious illness.

Give a final written warning if you think it's appropriate.

If a third meeting is necessary, use the same procedure as the second meeting - but this time, if you can't see any improvement, you should consider dismissal.

5. Consistency & legality

During the disciplinary process, it's important both to stay within the bounds of employment law and also to remain consistent.

You must apply your company's disciplinary procedures consistently. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, a written set of policies is helpful for both the employer and employees.

Also, keep referring back to hard data to check that you aren't treating an employee more harshly (or leniently!) than others.

Fail to take a consistent approach and you risk upsetting employees, destroying morale, and creating uncertainty about how your company handles lateness.

You could also be accused of unfair dismissal if you don't apply procedures fairly and consistently.

Know your policies, and ensure managers follow them.

In UK employment law, persistent employee lateness usually isn't classed as gross misconduct, so you must try to provide one verbal and two written warnings before you can fairly dismiss an employee for lateness.

Employees must be given the chance to explain their actions, make improvements, and appeal against a dismissal decision.

Remember that employees can't claim unfair dismissal at a tribunal unless they've worked for the company for two years or more. However, as part of the new Employment Rights Bill, employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal from their first day of employment, which is planned to commence in 2027.

Takeaways

Managing consistently late employees can be a minefield. Here's how to navigate it effectively:

• Get all the info before starting the disciplinary process.
• Be consistent and fair with disciplinary procedures.
• Document each instance of tardiness and the impact it had on the business (where applicable).

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Frequently asked questions

How to address employee lateness

Start with an informal one-to-one chat with your employee to understand (and support) potential causes. Perhaps you can offer more flexible hours. Put an action plan in place to track improvement. Only when the problem persists should formal warnings come into play.

Is lateness classed as misconduct?

Yes. A consistent pattern of lateness, even by a few minutes, or unauthorised absences from work is considered misconduct. Depending on company policies and the reasoning for employee lateness, it can lead to disciplinary action.

How much lateness is acceptable?

No set amount is right or wrong. It depends on a company's policy – and, most importantly, how frequently the lateness occurs. There's only so much that's within our control: the odd day of awful traffic, a missed alarm, or cancelled public transport is acceptable. It's when an employee's lateness becomes consistent and predictable that it becomes an issue.

How to track employee lateness and chronic tardiness

A workforce management system with Time & Attendance tracking is essential for keeping an eye on employee lateness. Mobile clocking-in and digital timesheets can automatically record employee attendance, flagging lateness or overtime, allowing you to identify concerning patterns and nip chronic tardiness in the bud.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in September 2019 and updated for accuracy in September 2025.