You should follow this process when dealing with employees who are consistently late and /or absent from work:

Step 1: Make sure you record and monitor the number of late periods and /or unexplained absences the employee takes.

Step 2: Meet with the employee to discuss their absences. While doing so, re-enforce your performance expectations.

Step 3: Outline the duration of the absences and explain how the absenteeism is affecting their work performance.

Step 4: Discuss a time-frame for a return to satisfactory performance with the employee.

Step 5: Consider (in conjunction with the employee) if there is anything you could reasonably do to help them meet their job requirements.

Step 6: Do not terminate the employee for a breach outside the time-frame set for improvement. Warn them instead.

Step 7: Keep written records of all the meetings.

Step 8: If after all these steps the situation does not improve, ask the person to meet with you to discuss the issue of their lateness/absenteeism. Invite them to bring a support person. At the meeting indicate that you believe that the issue has not been resolved satisfactorily and you believe that you have grounds to dismiss. Invite the person’s response to that fact. Make sure you listen and consider their response before determining whether they should be dismissed.

Regards,

Charles Power
Editor-in-Chief
Employment Law Practical Handbook

Tags: absences, absent, absenteeism, employees, late, satisfactory performance