need motivation

bounce

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-05-03 AT 08:59AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I have a huge knot in my stomach. While on vacation, I received 2 voice mails at my home from on-duty ee's asking who was coming in to relieve them from their shift, as the ee scheduled had not arrived. The missing ee finally arived 2 & 1/2 hours late.

When I confronted the ee, he stated he had arrived only 30 minutes late, and was angry that his co-workers had "reported" him. I have a correct time & date stamp on my voice mail, I talked to both ee's on duty at the time who verified he was not there.

I informed the late ee that if he overslept, or something which caused him to be late, he could just be honest and tell me that. He insists he was only 30 minutes late.

Today I am going to serve him a written warning for being late, recording his time card incorrectly ( he recorded his time as having been there).

Previous to this, he has never been late, has been honest to my knowledge, and has expected his coworkers to be on time. He has picked up extra shifts, worked late when he could, come in early when he could. Why do I feel so bad about giving him a warning?

TN HR

You shouldn't feel bad about taking what appears to be the proper corrective action. As far as the ee being sore about being "ratted out", he needs to understand how his lack of punctuality affected another employee.

You mentioned that he holds others accountable for being to work on time. I would point-out that he should live-up to the expectation that he himself has set for others.

Gene

Don D

Maybe I missed it; but, how does the time and date stamp on your home machine prove what time the employee actually arrived at work? Could he have been there, somewhere in the building working, earlier than others reported?

bounce

The building is a single family home, so unless he was sleeping in the house somewhere, I don't think he could have been there for 2 hours without someone knowing.

Hatchetman

More importantly, you had the two statements from the two emplyees (wintesses) that attest to when he appeared in the work area to start his work.
Unless their credibility is in question (e.g., they have animosity toward the emplyee; they rthemselves weren't there; they were intoxicated), you have to accpet the weight of the evidence against his statement that he was only 30 minutes late. If he didn't tell you the truth when you asked him about it, you should mention that in your warning as well (and that is probably more of a justification for giving the warning). Also advise him of the specific procedures to follow under all circumstances should he be late to work again (i.e., who to call to report the fact he is going to be late).

mwild31

What's your discipline policy? Does it state you have to give written warnings - does it state that you have to give verbal ones first - what does your policy state? Luckily for me, (disclaimer: I'm not in a union/public employees enviroment) - I don't have to go the progressive discipline route - we have more of a management's discretion route to discipline. If your policy is more to this route, then based on his great history - maybe give him a verbal warning (we still record verbals in his file). However, you have to follow YOUR policies - it's crummy sometimes and a tough job but that's why they pay us the BIG bucks. x:D

bounce

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-07-03 AT 11:57PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I do have the flexibility of giving him a verbal warning. I have considered going that route. But, as Hatchetman pointed out, he refuses to accept responsibiltiy for or admit to being late AND he recorded on his timecard that he was there, when in fact he wasn't. To me, the dishonesty is more serious than the fact that he was late. If he were honest about the whole thing, then this would have been over with already. I would have considered it a coaching/verbal warning. But after talking to him and getting nowhere, I think he needs to know that being dishonest with his supervisor, blaming his co-workers and recording his time card falsly will not be tolerated.

And the co-workers who called looking for him are his friends. They really weren't calling to "report" that he wasn't there. They were asking if there was a mistake on the schedule or something because nobody had showed up and one of them had to leave. After I talked to him about being late, he started hounding one of them about "reporting" him and even called him at home and told this ee's relatives that the ee had gotten him in trouble, which caused that ee to call me to ask that I let him know they weren't trying to get him in trouble.

FHR

They may be his friends but he is not theirs.
I love the "only" thirty minutes late. Did he call to say he was "only" going to be thirty minutes late? Was there a reason for him being late at all?
If he had called then his friends wouldn't have had to go looking for him or a replacement. Clearly he is lying and that is the more serious issue. A previously good employee who has started lying. I'd sit him down, point out the obvious and ask him for an explanation and then give him the proper warning in writing. There may be more going on here.
Cristina