Dealing with adverse weather

Employers will wish to keep disruption to a minimum, but also take into account the health and safety of employees. There are a number of steps which employers can take to effectively manage issues posed by adverse weather.

Remind staff of policies

Now is an opportune time for employers to remind employees of any adverse weather policies that they have in place. This can help avoid confusion over an employee's obligations if they are prevented from travelling to (or would be prevented from getting home from work safely) due to bad weather.

If no such policy is in place then employers should aim to approach the issue in a reasonable manner in the circumstances. Generally there is no entitlement to pay where employees do not report for work unless otherwise stated in their contract of employment.

However, a strict policy of no pay is likely to cause aggravation and therefore may not be the best approach from a staff relations perspective.

Whatever the employer chooses to do, a consistent approach is key to avoiding unfair treatment or discontent amongst staff.

Consider alternatives

Considering alternatives where the employee cannot safely report for work can also help to minimise issues.

These might include:
• allowing staff to use their annual leave
• working from home if the employee's role allows
• allowing employees to arrive late/leave early and make up the time on another date

Workplace closures

In circumstances where the workplace is forced to close then all employees should be paid for that day, regardless of whether they could have travelled to work or not.

School closures and emergencies

In some circumstances employees will be faced with unforeseen childcare issues where schools are closed due to adverse weather. Employees have a statutory right to reasonable time off to deal with unexpected emergencies affecting children and other dependants.

However, the right is only to unpaid time off although employers may wish to provide paid leave at their discretion. Additionally, employees must still inform their employer as soon as practicable of the reason for their absence.

Clearly communicating any policies together with consistent and reasonable approach to adverse weather absences should ensure that issues are kept to a minimum during the winter months.

Attachments:

• SEVEREWEATHERPOLICY(SAMPLE).doc