Employee fired for being 10 minutes late to office, Reddit post sparks debate

Employee shared details of termination over minor lateness. (Pexels/Representational Image)

• Employee fired for chronic tardiness and confrontational behavior toward management
• Reddit post ignites debate on company's strict punctuality and firing rules

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A recent Reddit post highlighted an unusual firing after an employee was terminated for misconduct for reporting late to the office. According to the post, the worker arrived 10-15 minutes late for five consecutive days.

In the post, the employee shared a screenshot of the office email, which mentioned: “continued behavioural misconduct, habitual late reporting to work, and disrespectful conduct towards senior management.”

The employee described the series of events that led to his termination.

As per the post, the employee was advised to mark a half-day as he arrived late at the office premises.

The worker informed the management that if a short delay is treated as a half-day, reporting after lunch would make more sense. “Then I said if the company want to apply half day then I will come after lunch,” he said.

According to the termination email, the behaviour violated the company’s Code of Conduct and disciplinary policies, affecting professional standards. “Such conduct is in violation of the Company's Code of Conduct and disciplinary policies,” the email reads.

The post quickly gained traction online, with several users questioning the decision to terminate without any prior warnings, while a few supported the company’s stance on punctuality.

One user wrote, “If the company has a half-day salary deduction for coming late (lala company), you don’t escalate things by threatening to show up after lunch. Traffic on the road or in the area is a pretty lame excuse to give for showing up late. Next time, be more professional. If you don’t like the rules, then look for another job and move out.”

Another user commented, “While terminating a contract for coming 10-15 late is absolutely wild.

But the fact that you were clearly in the wrong here, and then doubled down on the same thing by stating that you will come even later, doesn’t make sense to me.”

A third user said, “The reasons look pretty solid, Dude, and your explanation to the mail itself isn't very convincing. I mean, you did admit to wrongdoing and then also resorted to verbal confrontation instead of being apologetic about it.”

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content shared on social media. Moneycontrol has not independently verified the claims.)