When you work for a company, there are times when you are late or you can't make it to a meeting. Sometimes you are sick, or sometimes you are stuck in traffic. We will study sentences you need to know to say why you are late or can't make it to work.

Late

Some jobs require you to 'punch in' when you get to work. 'Punching in' keeps track of how long you worked. Many hourly jobs use this system. But if you are a salary person and do not have to 'punch in', then you have more flexibility. Let's say you are going to be five minutes late. If you have your own office, then nobody will know. But if you work in a setting where your boss sees you coming in, then you will need an excuse. We'll cover everything about being late here.

Five minutes late

If you are going to be just a little late, then you don't need to call in. However, you will need to tell them why you are late when you get in the office. Here are some examples.

If you are the boss, then you might want to ask why your employee is late. Let's see some of these sentences.







A boss or manager will not be too upset if you are late only once or very rarely. But if this is a constant habit, they might be a little more upset.




If you hear one of these statements, then you better say something that will calm the boss down. Also, you shouldn't let this happen again so tell him or her it won't happen again.