Dear Toby: My Employee Is Always Late. Now What?

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Dear Toby,

I have an employee who is late. Constantly.

Not an hour late. Usually 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes 15. There is always a reason: traffic, couldn't find parking, alarm didn't go off, coffee shop was slow, dog wouldn't come inside. You get the idea.

The problem is that they're actually a pretty good employee once they get here. Their work gets done and I don't want to make a huge deal over a few minutes.

But other employees have started making comments about it, and honestly, I'm getting annoyed too. Everyone else manages to show up on time.

Am I being petty if I start cracking down on this now after letting it slide for months?

Signed,

Watching the Clock in Calgary

Dear Watching the Clock,

Ah, the chronically late employee. Never late enough to create a full-blown crisis, but late just often enough to make everyone else wonder why they bothered arriving on time.

And no, you're not being petty.

But you have accidentally taught your employee that being 5–15 minutes late is acceptable.

The good news? You can fix that.

First, have the conversation

Before you jump straight to a written warning, talk to them.

And don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Try something like:

"I've noticed you've been arriving after your scheduled start time pretty regularly. I haven't addressed it before, but it's becoming a pattern and I need you to be ready to work at 8:30."

Then ask what's going on.

There could be something you don't know about. Maybe their childcare arrangement changed. Maybe the bus schedule makes their start time genuinely difficult. Maybe there's a temporary personal issue.

Or maybe they simply leave home too late.

You won't know until you ask.

Decide whether the start time actually matters

Here's where managers sometimes get themselves into trouble.

If your employee sits at a desk, doesn't interact with anyone until 9:30 and consistently works later anyway, ask yourself whether being at their desk at exactly 8:30 actually matters.

If it doesn't, maybe the better solution is changing their schedule.

But if someone needs to open the store, answer the phones, relieve another employee, attend a morning meeting or be available to customers, then yes, being on time matters.

The expectation should make sense for the job.

Don't ignore the impact on everyone else

This is usually where "it's only five minutes" stops being only five minutes.

Your other employees notice.

They notice that they rush through daycare drop-off, sit in traffic and plan their mornings so they're ready to work on time while someone else strolls in late with a latte.

Eventually, the question becomes:

"Why do I have to follow the rule if they don't?"

That is a much bigger problem than ten minutes.

Consistency matters. Not because workplaces need to become rigid clock-watching machines, but because expectations lose credibility when they're only enforced for some people.

Reset the expectation clearly

If you've allowed the behaviour for months, own that.

You don't need to pretend this has always been a hard line.

Say:

"I realize I haven't addressed this consistently in the past, so I want to be clear about the expectation moving forward. Your scheduled start time is 8:30, which means you need to be ready to work at 8:30."

Then give them an opportunity to correct it.

No drama. No surprise write-up. No 45-minute lecture about punctuality.

Just a clear expectation.

And if it keeps happening?

Then it becomes a performance issue.

Document the conversations you've had. Be specific about dates and frequency. Remind the employee of the expectation and what needs to change.

If the pattern continues despite coaching and clear expectations, move through your normal progressive discipline process.

Because at that point, the issue isn't really lateness anymore.

It's an employee who understands a reasonable workplace expectation and continues not to meet it.

The bottom line

Five minutes late once in a while? Life happens.

Five minutes late four days a week? That's a pattern.

Address it before you're so frustrated that a relatively small issue turns into a much bigger conversation.

And remember: what you walk past, you eventually teach people is acceptable.

Signed,

Toby

Got a thorny people problem of your own? Ask Toby. We don't sugarcoat it, but we do help you get unstuck with straight talk and smart HR.

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Disclaimer: The "Dear Toby" advice column is designed to provide general HR insights and guidance but should not be taken as legal advice. Every business and situation is unique, and employment laws vary by jurisdiction. Before implementing any advice from this column, we recommend consulting with a qualified HR professional or legal expert to ensure it aligns with your specific circumstances.