Learn English – What are the alternatives for “I was going to ask you”

If the person has already mentioned that he was late for school, I would simply ask: "How late ?" Otherwise, "Were you late for school ? How late ?" Your first sentence is correct, but I wouldn't say "for THE school". No definite article here.

It might be easier to start by asking where they work within the company; that is, ask a question that goes something along these lines:

Which branch do you work for?
What section do you work in?
Which department head do you work for?

One or two of those quesitons might give you the answer that you seek; the person might say:

I work in finance as a programmer in the payroll department.

If not, though – if the person just says something like, "I work in finance" – you can always ask a
follow-on question:

And what's your role there?
And what do you do in that department?