Late Employees

[rvoyles]

I own a service based business (we do computer repairs among other things) and I have a couple employees who have only one problem, they consistently show up late to appointments at a client's home or office. I've had talks with them about it and it will work for a few weeks and then they regress back into their back habit. I don't want to fire them because they do very good work, my manager has come up with the idea of docking them half their pay for each appointment they are late to, which I believe would work. My only question is, is it legal to do so. (I'm located in Florida if that matters)

[peteVA]

I can tell you the rules as I understand it. You can get a Fair Labor Standards book from the IRS or Commerce Department.

I used this for years with a time-clock situation. You can set a rule that is within reason. For me it was they would be fined 1/4 hour for every 5 minutes late. You still show their entire pay and you pay any taxes on the full amount, then you deduct the Fine after other deductions.

In your case, you may have a problem proving just when they arrive, or leave for that matter.

I sold an $80,000 GPS based vehicle tracking program to an office machine dealer, after the owner drove by an employee's house and saw the company truck in the guy's driveway at 2PM.

Half their pay would be excessive and you can't "dock" it as in deny them their wages, but you can deduct a reasonable amount as a fine.

I would also suggest going by an office supply store and picking up a pack of Employee Warning Notices. This is a duplicate little form you fill out and have them sign, so you have proof they have been warned.

Third time is the charm. Third warning - out they go.

Having to sign a written warning has much more effect than ticking a box on a PC.

And they can be fired for refusing to sign the warning.

Been there, done that.

[JGAviator]

I wish I would have known about the "fine 1/4 hour for every 5 minutes late..."

[peteVA]

Now you do. You heard it here first!

[noob]

Have an formal performance review to let them know the seriousness of the issue. However from my personal experience as an employer, employees who continue to conduct bad habit won't change and may only make things worse as you grow. Its better to hire other people who actually are responsible and in this economy, you shouldn't have a problem finding good people. Take your time finding them.

[BW Entertainment]

I would be careful with docking workers for being a couple minutes late. I could see this really hurting morale.

[rvoyles]

It usually is not just a few minutes, it usually runs in the 15-30 minute range. The only time I actually hear about it is when the customers call me (though lately I've been checking) so it gets late enough the customer calls me.

[noob]

That's not good for business. I'd let them go after a strict performance review or start looking for replacements.

[mcfarldr1]

I've always been taught to hit employees where it hurts, and that's their paycheck.

[BW Entertainment]

You dock them for being 5 minutes late, that is going to hurt morale. If they are constantly 30mins + late then dont dock them, fire them. If they are constantly 30mins late because the way the company schedules projects etc isnt allowing for enough time to get from project to project, management needs to address that.

[guidemesingapore]

If they are consistently late (30+ minutes) and you haven't fined them yet, then they are taking advantage of you now. I agree with above posts where they say to conduct a serious performance review. While reviewing their work, make sure you mention to them how the company's reputation is being hurt by them reaching late to client sites and it won't be tolerated any further. You can deduct pay as fines but let them know before creating the rule. If they still don't show up on time, its your bad luck and I'd say they would never improve. You might have to let them go then. Lot of well qualified people would be happy to get the job.