Thursday, 02 Dec 2010
When the snow lay 'round about...
The recent severe weather experience raises an old employment law chestnut – what happens if an employee is unable or unwilling to travel to his or her place of work? What, if any, steps can businesses take to ensure they are not cheated out of labour by the elements?
As a general rule, the onus is on individual employees to get themselves to work. If an employee does not present himself or herself for work or turns up late because he or she was ‘snowed in’ or public transport was affected by weather, on the face of it, the employer is entitled to treat the absence as any other unauthorised absence.
However, employers need to consider whether such a stance is in the best interests of their business: weather is out with employees’ control. Even when staff are late or unable to get to work the benefits of paying them anyway – in terms of staff morale, goodwill and productivity in the long run – often outweigh the financial burden of doing so.
As an employer it may be worth thinking about alternative arrangements to enable employees to continue working whatever the weather. This might involve giving employees the option to work from home or simply to work flexible hours. Such arrangements will not necessarily be suitable for all workplaces, but they can help reduce absence levels and ensure workplace demands are met.
Alternatively, employers could allow staff to take the time as holidays or pay as normal but requiring them to make up the time. Most alternatives to withholding pay are likely to engender a feeling of goodwill amongst employees – and, if staff consider their employer flexible and reasonable when dealing with such issues, they are more likely to battle bad weather to make it into work.
Absence and lateness aside, severe weather can cause other problems for employers. If employees work outdoors or are required to drive a vehicle, they might be unable to perform their duties in the depths of snow we’ve been experiencing. It is incumbent upon employers to ensure general health and safety procedures are complied with. Employers should not encourage employees to travel in severe weather.
An employer will not normally be responsible for the actions of employees when they are travelling to and from their work. However, if an employee’s actions appear to have been shaped by what the employer authorised or expected – both in and out of working hours – the employer can be held responsible for those actions.
Businesses that start to think about weather-related disruption when the snow has already fallen have left it too late. Before the next bout of bad weather hits make sure you’ve put in place an adverse-weather policy, or clauses within your absence policy that refer to weather-related absences. These should make it clear that staff are expected to make reasonable efforts to get to work. They should also clarify whether employees will be paid if unable to reach work or are substantially delayed. Crucially, such guidelines need to be made widely available to all employees to as to avoid any misunderstanding when the snow lies ‘deep and crisp and even’.
If you want further information or advice on these issues, please contact Donna Reynolds in our employment team.