Conduct and discipline

Informal concern: lateness or attendance letter

Records a quiet word about timekeeping or attendance before anything formal starts.

A pattern is forming, you have spoken to them about it, and you want a note of that conversation so that if it carries on, the formal process does not start from nothing. This is not a warning and must not read like one.

Before it goes

  • You have the dates. Clock-in records, not memory.
  • You have had the conversation face to face. The letter records it; it does not replace it.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Our conversation on [DATE] about timekeeping Thank you for meeting me on [DATE]. I wanted to write down what we talked about so we both have the same record. Since [START DATE OF PATTERN], your clock-in records show you started after your rostered start time on [NUMBER] occasions: [LIST DATES AND TIMES, e.g. 3 March (07:22 for 07:00), 5 March (07:40), 12 March (07:15)]. On [DATE] the [job / delivery / team] was held up because [CONSEQUENCE]. You explained that [THEIR EXPLANATION, e.g. the bus connection has changed / childcare in the mornings has become difficult]. [We agreed that [ANY ADJUSTMENT, e.g. you will start at 07:30 and finish at 16:00 for the next month while you sort out the new arrangements].] This is an informal conversation, not a disciplinary warning, and nothing goes on your record. I do need your timekeeping to be back to your rostered start from [DATE]. If it is not, I may need to deal with it under the disciplinary procedure, and I would rather not. If there is anything else getting in the way that you did not want to raise in the meeting, my door is open. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The dates
From the clock-in system. Work-Lynx exports them; a list of dates and times is what turns a feeling into a fact.
Their explanation
Write it down honestly. If it points at a health condition or a caring responsibility, this letter becomes an adjustment conversation and the last paragraph changes.

What the law says

  • Acas Code of Practice, paragraph 4 onwards: many issues are best resolved informally; the formal procedure is for when that has not worked.
  • Equality Act 2010: if the lateness is linked to a disability, childcare, or a religious observance, the conversation is about adjustments, not conduct.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not call it a warning, put it on file as a warning, or refer to it later as a warning. It is a note of a conversation.
  • Do not skip the informal stage for minor conduct. The Acas Code expects you to try it, and a tribunal notices when you did not.

Questions people ask

Can I rely on this letter later if it carries on?

Yes, as evidence that the employee knew there was a problem and was given the chance to fix it. That is precisely why you write it. It is not a live warning and does not count as one in a later sanction.

How many late starts before it becomes formal?

There is no number. Once you have had the informal conversation and it has not worked, or the lateness is serious enough on its own, move to the formal procedure. The policy you publish should say how you handle it, and you follow what it says.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

Start free trial