Dealing with Absence due to Adverse Weather - 06/12/2010

There is no automatic right for employees to be paid if unable to get to work due to adverse weather conditions. It is a difficult issue that both employees and employers have faced during extreme weather experienced over the past few days.

In light of the authorities constant public warnings on the dangers of travelling in the snow and ice employers may be extremely unwise to use heavy handed pressure to induce employees to make dangerous journeys which may put them at risk of an accident, especially if they are put under the impression that they will be subject to a disciplinary procedure or deduction of pay unless they appear at work. Such a stance is highly likely to have an adverse effect on the morale of the staff; particularly those who have struggled for many hours in freezing conditions only to find their efforts are in vain or worse still find themselves stranded.

A better approach perhaps is to agree with employees that any days spent at home due to the bad weather will be regarded as part of their holiday allowance. Better still, remote working from home by way of current technology is an extremely acceptable way of dealing with on-going travel problems and also minimises the impact on the business. However, this must be planned in advance, it is not ideal to be trying to remember what the password is and how you log-on remotely and divert calls when half the password and user name information required is sitting in the unmanned office and the employee is sitting at home. Obviously this solution is only possible for certain kinds of work.

Another facet of this thorny question is how to deal with employees whose children's school has closed due to the bad weather leaving their parents with no choice but to stay at home. This eventuality is covered by the Employment Rights Act 1996 (s57A) which provides for time off for domestic emergencies which impact on the care of a dependant and not to be dismissed or victimised for doing so. In the case of an unexpected school closure the statutory right amounts to only enough time to put alternative arrangements in place for the care of the child or children and not to be an excuse for taking a week or so off. The statutory entitlement is to unpaid leave only, however some employers will agree to staff using part of the holiday entitlement for the time taken, others will exercise their discretion to pay it in any event.

Disruption to travel for whatever reason is a contingency that employers should consider well in advance as it is likely to be an on-going feature of life. The best way to deal with this situation is to have an adverse weather policy. Set out what you expect from your employees and what they can expect from you in such circumstances. This eliminates the opportunity for confusion and disagreement. If you plan to make discretionary payments to staff unable to get to work you must be absolutely clear and make sure your policy is consistent and fair.

Adverse weather conditions are the fault of neither the employer nor the employee; a reasonable commonsense approach is the only way to deal with the problem

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