Fired for coming into work 15min late?

I know of someone complaining that they were fired from their office job for coming into the office 15min late most days. The issue here is it is common place for most employees at that office to come this late every day, including senior staff, and none of them have been punished.

Is there a case for discrimination here?

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Reply 1

inhuman

Well they are late...I think sadly saying "well everyone is doing it" won't work.

Sounds like a **** job anyway.

Reply 2

UWS

You said most days so it's not a one off... Probably deserved it and so do the others

Reply 3

Magic Streets

Even the directors who did the firing sometimes come late. Does seem odd why that employee was singled out.

Reply 4

Tai Ga

There's probably more to the story.

Reply 5

Magic Streets

Original post by Tai Ga

There's probably more to the story.

The only reason given was persistent lateness.

Reply 6

username1539513

Original post by Magic Streets

Being fired for being 15 minutes late seems a bit harsh tbh, sometimes I'm over half an hour late for my shifts and I don't even get disciplined

Reply 7

Magic Streets

Can this be taken to a tribunal for discrimination?

Reply 8

yungaheartz

most days? if they were late most days then they deserve it

i'm the one who deserves a case, i was fired for coming in late twice. yeah thats bad that it happened twice but whats unfair is that in my office we had people (mainly women) who were always late, sometimes up to an hour late. they'd work for an hour then leave early and take an extra 15 minutes for lunch yet they were never fired or even questioned but i got fired for turning up late TWICE! so damn unfair

was clearly discrimination too because pervy manager didn't fancy me as much as he fancied the girls he kept on!!

Reply 9

trustmeimlying1

Original post by yungaheartz

lel hr working hard

Reply 10

DanielleT192

Why concern yourself with this? Isn't this based on someone else getting fired and not you?

Also, I know of certain places finding being late as a serious issue especially if someone is on probation (this is from call centre work, so not sure how office workplaces work). Being 15 mins late on a regular basis is not something an employer likes, since they want people who are going to be punctual and reliable.*

As someone else has said, maybe there's more to the story. Either way, it's frankly nothing to do with you but with your former employee and the manager. Let them deal with that themselves.

Reply 11

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by Magic Streets

Can this be taken to a tribunal for discrimination?

I doubt it.
If an employee is late most days, then there is a legitimate reason for firing someone. If it was the odd one off and there was a legitimate reason, then yeah, but it was persistent lateness.
Just because other people are doing it as well, it doesnt make it right. The others who are turning up late deserve to be fired as well to be fair.

Reply 12

plasmaman

Original post by yungaheartz

He's "pervy" because he was attracted to some of your colleagues? Sounds a little harsh.

Reply 13

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Magic Streets

Can this be taken to a tribunal for discrimination?

Go and look up what discrimination means in legal terms.

Reply 14

sleepysnooze

um, no - do what your contract says - don't deliberately break it

Reply 15

yungaheartz

Original post by plasmaman

He's "pervy" because he was attracted to some of your colleagues? Sounds a little harsh.

the girls were about 22 and he was in his mid 50s

Reply 16

S1939

Well, senior staff tend to work overtime. That's probably why they start their work at a later time compared to most employees ???

Reply 17

username1208193

I mean, punctuality is everything so. Sounds harsh but, not surprised.

Reply 18

Magic Streets

Having done some research on UK employment law, there are some things which an employee can do in this situation:-

1) Reject the terms given for the termination of contract by the employer (yes, an employee can do this, it is a two way process with the employer);

2) Appeal the decision if there are reasonable grounds to do so (the appeal meeting has to be done by a more senior manager than in the termination meeting);

3) Make it clear to the employer that the employee is available to work until a final decision is made by the employer, meaning that he/she remains on the payroll until the appeal meeting has been completed.

Also, an employer cannot treat an employee less favourably than anyone else, otherwise it becomes a breach of trust and confidence between the relationship of the employer and employee in question, and a case for constructive dismissal may be made by the employee.