I need some guidance on how to handle this ongoing situation.

Approximately seven months ago, our department hired a full-time employee. At the end of his first week, the new employee did not come to work. He did not inform the team leader nor the manager that he would be absent. The team leader was unable to reach him when he tried contacting him to find out what was happening. This happened again the second and third week; missing a day’s work and not telling anyone.

During this three week period, the team leader left the department for another job and I was designated team leader. When the employee once again failed to show up to work, I emailed our manager and asked if perhaps the employee was contacting him when he wasn’t coming to work. Our manager said no, and when the employee returned to work the following day, our manager stressed the importance attendance, and if he needed to miss a day, he must let us know in advance.

For the next few weeks, the employee’s attendance improved. And, then it started slipping (he did let us know when he was going to be out of the office).

Long story short…the employee missed approximately 23 days in a seven month period. I documented as well as informed my manager each time the employee was absent. Again, my manager spoke to the employee and informed him if the absences continued, he would be fired.

Once again, the employee’s attendance temporarily improved, and then started slipping. And, because, the employee was new, he had not accumulated enough paid sick, vacation, or personal days to cover all his absences. As a result, Human Resources is cutting his paycheck in half for the next two months to recover the district’s money.

In addition to the excessive absences, the quality of his work is inconsistent. I have collected examples of his sloppy work and shared it with my manager. I also met with the employee and used the examples to illustrate why the quality was unacceptable, my expectations, and what was needed to correct the work.

This situation is creating a lot of stress and wearing me down. I don’t trust this employee to do the job correctly. As a result, I sometimes do the task myself. I also spend way too much time checking his work to be sure it’s done correctly.

What can I do?