How to Respond to Unfair Show-Cause Letters Due to Director's Late Hours?

I'm working for a public sector in the IT department. The issue is our director leaves almost around 6 or 7 PM and comes around 2 PM. Being a government office in Pakistan, we already have a letter issued to come around 9:30 AM, but there was no leave time mentioned.

Issue with Director's Timing

Now the issue is that since our director comes late and sits late, we are forced to sit until he is in the office. To compensate for that, we started coming around 10 or 10:30 AM. Now the issue is that all the employees received a show-cause letter for coming late by half an hour, which affected office work, so we should explain why our one day's salary shouldn't be deducted. This was rather humiliating to us, so we thought of replying to the management in a hard way. Can anybody help us format a reply? Or give any input or feedback.

Thanks

P.S.: I just joined this forum, and this is my first post.

You did not mention your designation, but it sounds like you are quite junior compared to your director. If I am correct, then trust me, you may not be able to handle your director in a harsh manner because, as you mentioned, you come from the government sector. In the government sector, if someone displays this type of behavior, it usually indicates they have some backing, and no one can do anything about it. This is a common culture in the government sector.

All you can do regarding this issue is to talk to your director and management. Explain the complete situation to them and ask for their assistance in finding a solution.

Assistant Manager MIS Seeking Guidance on Explanation Letter

I'm an Assistant Manager in the MIS department. It's not just me, but every assistant has to wait for the director, and it's a joint explanation letter. We have decided to reply to the explanation letter stating that we have to sit late, so we come late. I just need a draft type of thing where I can easily communicate with my boss, stating how things are going on. Either they should fix the incoming/outgoing time or give relaxation to their employees to come late. On the other hand, I don't know on what grounds they will deduct salary.

Regards

Challenging Director Privileges

We cannot challenge the privileges of a director. There is no harm in sitting late for 1 to 1.5 hours. Coming late as a result of staying late is a self-styled solution and is not justified. You can convince your director if you have some problem with staying late. You can also discuss late arrivals with him. However, without his consent, it is not justified.

Alternative Solutions

There are other ways. You can request him to provide gate passes for your personal work in lieu of the extra time spent.

Regards

Directors and Legal Boundaries

No Director is beyond the law of the land or organization. We know even Presidents and Prime Ministers have been sent to jail or even executed for the abuse of law. The privilege of the Director is limited to his activities, including coming and going as per the norms approved by the Board, and not on insisting that his employees extend a "guard of honor" by staying late according to his whims and fancies. Let it be clear to all of us!

Having said that, the employees can jointly ask the management to define the duty hours. You must also ask them that in case one has to overstay on account of work, what are the schemes for Overtime/Compensatory off? Of course, every employee has to overstay occasionally in case of a real exigency like an inspection by a third party/Government authorities, etc. But urgency/exigency cannot be every day and definitely not as per the whims and fancies of a Director, however mighty he might be.

You can also seek clarifications from your appointing authority on the above points.

You say you work in a Govt/Public Sector Company. Let's be realistic: whether it's in Pakistan or India or, for that matter, in most other developing countries—those with access to the top or political links can get away with practically anything. The person doesn't really have to be a Director or even a senior official. And frankly, your intent of showing/quoting the Rules & Regulations won't work—unless you have the guts to face the consequences, which can be pretty nasty. I am sure you see this aspect in almost every way of life in your country.

Options for Addressing the Issue

I can see ONLY TWO options for you:

1. Just take it & look for other opportunities in the Private Sector—since you are in IT, you shouldn't have a lot of problems here.

2. Explain...NOT COMPLAIN...to the Director VERBALLY...SURELY NOT IN WRITING...that you & other employees are facing a bit of family issues for going late on a daily basis. Focus on influencing the 'emotional' side of the person, rather than the 'official' side. Hope you get the point. This would be the Best Bet for any possibility of success in your efforts.

All the Best.

Regards, TS

The only thing you may do is to apologize for your actions and cross-question the timings. While cross-questioning, mention the time you enter the office and the time you leave, so that you can calculate the extra time you are spending at the office. Question the authority regarding your life and family, whether they want you to consider working as life or work as an option to lead a better life!

Then calculate how many hours you have missed your own time of your life sitting at the office. Question whether they pay you for overtime, and also question just because the person is an authority above your work profile, is he beyond discipline. Mention that it is the impact of such irresponsible behavior on the part of a higher employee which has resulted in regular employee behavior.

Strictly mention that you are apologizing for causing whatever by coming late to the office but have lost a lot of personal and family time, more than the loss caused to them. Clearly request them to justify the same. Always be polite but strong in speech, never use abusive words whatsoever. Question in a way like asking for a reason rather than asking why in its direct sense.

Wish you luck...