I used to be a foreman -- non-electrical, and my janitor was from Costa Rica. Perhaps their concept of a 7 a.m. starting time meant sometime between 7 and 8 o'clock. If he didn't show up, I would have to get his work done myself [cleaning toilets] but when he did show up, I was relieved. At least the employee should call if he is going to be late.
On the other hand, Herb told us about this guy who started arriving late. He talked with the guy and it turned out that his wife left him and he had to deliver his daughters to their various schools. Herb explained this predicament to his crew and they understood.
"guy is 15 minutes late. Sends him home. Following day he is 5 minutes late. Sends him home. This is probably the best approach. You may want to be shopping for someone else. He isn't the only super apprentice in the field. [I was the other one.]
Roger got fired this way. Mark said, You're late. I can't use you. Go home."
One time, as I was waiting for starting time, this pickup truck arrives next to me. The driver is barefoot -- probably just got out of bed and hopped in his truck. Then he put his boots on. This is cutting it closely. Shouldn't one prepare himself for the day with a figther pilot's breakfast?
My advice for the employee in this situation is to not look at the official starting time as the NEC limit. You say, "The start time is 7 a.m. and it takes me 18 minutes to drive there. So I will leave the house at 6:42." But what if you hit too many red lights or there is a neat traffic accident that you get to gawk at? So I would aim to arrive about 6 a.m. and spent the rest of the time drinking my coffee and solving my Sudoku.
~Peter
