Welcome to today's blog post on ‘Late Arrival Day’. Yes, you heard right! Today, 30 July, we are celebrating the curious ‘Late Arrival Day’. But what actually happens if your employees are late for work? What consequences can this have under labour law? We clarify this for you in this article.
Tardiness and its consequences under labour law
Being late is not a trivial offence in most professions and can have consequences under labour law. In principle, it is the duty of every employee to keep to their contractually agreed working hours. Repeated or unexcused lateness can have serious consequences, which we explain in more detail below.
When are employees too late?
The working hours regulated in the labour or collective agreement are decisive for the answer to this question. If there are no regulations, there are usually corresponding instructions from you as the employer regarding the start of work, which your employees must generally adhere to.
There are often flexitime arrangements or so-called trust-based working hours. In these cases, employees are generally free to organise their working hours as they wish and can therefore decide for themselves when they start their working day. Despite this flexibility, core working hours or fixed deadlines still require punctuality.
Consequences of repeated lateness:
Warning notice:
Being late can initially result in a warning. A warning serves as a formal warning and an indication that certain behaviour, in this case repeated lateness, will not be tolerated. It documents that you as the employer do not agree with the employee's behaviour and demands a change in behaviour.
Cancellation:
If an employee continues to be late for work despite warnings, this can lead to dismissal. A distinction is made between ordinary dismissal, where statutory or contractually agreed notice periods must be observed, and dismissal without notice, which is only justified in the case of particularly serious or repeated offences.
Job reference and career opportunities
Good to know for employees: Repeated lateness can also have long-term effects on your career. It can be reflected negatively on a reference, which can affect future job opportunities. Employers pay attention to how reliable an applicant has been in the past, and regular lateness could be interpreted as a sign of a lack of reliability and professionalism.
Case-by-case assessment and lenient circumstances
However, there are also extenuating circumstances that must be taken into account. For example, if external circumstances such as a serious road accident, the obligation to provide first aid or extreme weather conditions and natural events are responsible for the delay, this must be taken into account on your part. It is important that such exceptions do not become the rule.
Our verdict:
The ‘Day of Tardiness’ may be a humorous occasion, but it also reminds us how important punctuality is in working life. Being late can not only lead to warnings, but in the worst-case scenario can also jeopardise career opportunities.
Of course, we wouldn't be reporting on this if we didn't have a solution 😉 With our time recording system humanify, you can put the issue of punctuality in the hands of your employees yourself and have a good overview:
Working hours are properly documented, ensuring transparency and fairness in everyday working life. Humanify enables working hours to be recorded precisely, making deviations and late arrivals clearly traceable. This not only encourages employees to take personal responsibility, but also supports the fair handling of consequences under labour law. With Humanify, the guesswork of punctuality is a thing of the past, and you can count on reliable and efficient working time recording.
If you have any questions about our humanify time recording system or our all-in-one solutions for companies, please call us on 04954 927955-0 (also via WhatsApp) or send us a message.
