Work dilemma

Does your company have an established disciplinary action procedure?  If not, you need one.  I can tell you how to do this to keep yourself out of legal trouble.
 
Let me start by saying I truly believe most employee performance issues could be easily corrected with better communication.  If an employee doesn't realize that their performance is a problem, logically, they think they are performing fine. 
 
You show me an employee who isn't performing to standard, but isn't aware of it, and I will show you a bad manager, 100% of the time.  Being brutally honest, you have not properly managed this employee.  If she is your employee, you should be the one to address any unacceptable performance issues.  Putting this responsibility off on someone else diminishes your effectiveness as a manager in the eyes of your employees.  You should have addressed her tardiness long ago and if you had done it and done it properly, one way or another, it wouldn't be a problem for you today.
 
Okay, off my soapbox.  I manage managers so my job is a bit easier than yours in the sense that you usually don't have to worry about managers being competent and showing up to work on time, as you do with lower level employees.
 
There is a specific procedure you need to follow when addressing any performance issue with an employee.  EVERYTHING MUST BE DOCUMENTED.
 
1.  Verbal warning.  You have already done this.  Document it and put it in her file.
 
2.  Written warning.  The verbal warning didn't work so we are turning up the heat, A LOT.  I am sure you can find disciplinary action forms on the internet but basically what you want to document, in addition to the employee's name, date and the person reprimanding is,
 
A.  Specifically what behavior is it you object to?
B.  Specifically what do you expect to be done to correct the behavior?
C.  The consequences that will be applied should the behavior not be corrected.
 
Have the employee sign the disciplinary action form and tell her to feel free to add any comments to it she would like.  If she thinks you are an unfair, miserable bitch of a boss, have her put it in writing and include it in her file as part of this disciplinary action process.
 
3.  Suspension of employment.  Usually for 3 days.  There are legitimate difference of opinion on whether this suspension should be paid or unpaid.  ersonally, I favor paid.  Again, this is documented in writing just as it was in step 2.  In fact, you can use the same form to document the suspension.
 
4.  Termination of employment.  Documented, in writing.  See ya.  Have a good life.

She can't get to work on time because of the kids? Whose the PARENT in this house? I'm more than forgiving for the occasional late start or sick day due to kids. But being late every day is totally her fault. She needs to get her act together and organize her life so that she can get herself and her family moving in the morning.

My hubby is away from home for work most of the week. I get up at 6 am so I can have myself and the critters totally taken care of before I get the kids up at 7. The kids have to have clothes & shoes on before I will let them watch cartoons and eat breakfast. Then it's out the door at 8:15 for school and I'm at my desk by 8:45. And to get all of that accomplished, I have to have an nighttime routine to get homework, backpacks, baths, shoes, coats, etc. taken care of so we don't end up rushing around to do that in the morning. It makes life SO much easier and less stressfull in the long run if there is some sort of routine in place. Then little things like missing shoes don't escalate into being late.

Your assistant would probably benefit immensly just by getting up an hour earlier. A friend of mine was a stay-at-home mom and was always complaing about how hard it was to get her kids to school on time. We spent a few days at their place and I saw why. She dragged herself out of bed an hour before school started, then ran around screaming at the kids to get up and get dressed. Frantically tore the house apart for backpacks & mittens, then threw some pop tarts at them as they ran to the minivan to screech off to school. I asked her why she didn't get up an hour earlier. She said it was because she had to stay up late to watch her soaps after the kids went to bed. When I asked her why she didn't just put the kids to bed earlier, she said because they "won't" go to sleep before 10 pm. Ummm... who's running this house? I guess my priorities are different. I'd rather have a peaceful morning than watch soaps.

There is a specific procedure you need to follow when addressing any performance issue with an employee. EVERYTHING MUST BE DOCUMENTED.

1. Verbal warning. You have already done this. Document it and put it in her file.

2. Written warning. The verbal warning didn't work so we are turning up the heat, A LOT. I am sure you can find disciplinary action forms on the internet but basically what you want to document, in addition to the employee's name, date and the person reprimanding is,

A. Specifically what behavior is it you object to?
B. Specifically what do you expect to be done to correct the behavior?
C. The consequences that will be applied should the behavior not be corrected.

Have the employee sign the disciplinary action form and tell her to feel free to add any comments to it she would like. If she thinks you are an unfair, miserable bitch of a boss, have her put it in writing and include it in her file as part of this disciplinary action process.

3. Suspension of employment. Usually for 3 days. There are legitimate difference of opinion on whether this suspension should be paid or unpaid. Personally, I favor paid. Again, this is documented in writing just as it was in step 2. In fact, you can use the same form to document the suspension.

4. Termination of employment. Documented, in writing. See ya. Have a good life.

 
Amanda, I have to totally agree with Billy's procedure suggestions. This is EXACTLY how my work does it and there are over 16,000 employees in my organization. I am sorry you are going through this and I completely am behind others posts that this is an unacceptable reason AND if she is having extenuating circumstances with her children or child care, then she needs to be responsible and communicate this with you.
 
BUT to cover you#%92re a$$...you need to follow to protocol that Billy suggests…. My former boss did NOT with one of her employees and our whole program got seriously screwed over in a ugly law suit when the employee got vindictive… my organization actually ended up paying her off, rather than fighting a long drawn out legal battle.
 
Good Luck![]
 

Mine too, and mine was lowly retail...lol! Good suggestions I agree.

Someone pm'd me and asked why I favor paid suspensions rather than unpaid.  This person suggested that basically, if I do paid suspensions, I am just giving the employee a paid vacation.  I thought that was a good point and wanted to take an opportunity to explain my philosophy.
 
I don't think ANYTHING about the disciplinary action process should be seen by the employee as punishment.  If you put an employee on unpaid suspension, that is punitive.  I want the employee spending their time suspended thinking about what they need to do to correct their behavior, not how they can pay their bills.  When you take money from people, you hurt them.  At the point of the disciplinary action process where suspension comes in, I am not interested in hurting the employee.  I want him to fix his behavior.
 
Hope that clears it up.

actually, i believe that in TX, you can be terminated at any time without any warning for any reason (or lack of reason) at all.   terminated employees have no "rights" unless their termination is a violation of federal law:  based on sex, age, race, disability, and if they plan to claim wrongful termination, the burden of proof is on the employee.  that means that you DON'T have to document this stuff, and that you don't need to worry about being sued-- this may not be applicable everywhere, but it is in TX.  i have a link to a really great forum that discusses labor laws, or lack thereof, in every single state.  if you want to check it out, PM me and i'll send it to you.

I don't think having three kids can be used as an excuse for chronic tardiness. The ten year old is actually old enough to help with one of the younger ones, IMO.  She needs to get up an hour earlier if she can't get out of the house on time.
 
Joyce