Weather Alert!! Adverse Driving Conditions Affect Ability to get to Work.

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Weather Alert!! Adverse Driving Conditions Affect Ability to get to Work.

Apparently 1 in 5 British workers had to stay at home as a result of the snowstorms sweeping the country. While some were unable to make the journey, others were forced to take a day off work to look after children whose schools had closed.

But what are your legal rights if you take a day off work because of an emergency such as severe weather?

The following Q&A addresses some of the main concerns;

If you’re unable to get to work or think it’s not worth the effort, does your employer have the right not pay you for that day or count it as a day’s holiday?

Basic position: As a starting point, employees are entitled to be paid wages for the work they have done. Therefore, if an employee cannot come into work and carry out the work that he/she is paid to do, then the employer is not obliged to pay the employee.

Contractual provisions: The employee’s contract or workplace policies may deal with these situations. If an employer sets out in a policy or contract of employment that employees will be paid if they are unable to attend work because of adverse weather conditions, then this will be the employee’s contractual right.

Discretion: Employers may also choose to exercise their discretion and pay employees who cannot make it into work because of adverse weather as a goodwill gesture, for example.

Time off for Emergencies: Employees have the right to unpaid time off for emergencies to do with their dependants. Dependants include spouses, civil partners, children, parents and those who rely on the employee for assistance or to make arrangements for the provision of care. However, all other emergency leave will be governed by the employer’s internal policies or dealt with on an ad hoc basis.

Use of holiday entitlement: Employers and employees can decide together whether the employee will take the time off as holiday leave or whether the employee will make up the time lost, by working extended hours in the following week, etc.

If you work fewer hours than you are meant to as a result of bad weather, can your employer cut your pay pro rata?

The same advice as above applies. Given that wages are for work done, an employer would be entitled to deduct wages, pro rata, for the hours the employee has been unable to work.

If working from home is possible, can your employer – or you – insist that you do so in bad weather?

This would depend on the following considerations:

•    what the contract of employment and internal policies say about working from home;
•    the type of work done; and
•    the facilities needed to carry out the work from home.

An employee is obliged to follow the reasonable instructions of an employer; it would be reasonable to expect an employee to work from home of the employee has the necessary facilities and can reasonably carry out his or her normal work from home. If the employee wants to work from home, the employer may be unreasonable in refusing to allow the employee to do so if the employee can deliver work from home.

Can you claim expenses from your employer for any additional costs incurred in getting to work, such as taxis, or for staying in a hotel instead of going home?
No, not unless the contract of employment makes provision for this.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

As an employer it can’t be right that I am expected to pay an employee who is unable to perform their duties?

Unless an employer has a specific clause written into contracts of employment saying that if employees cannot get into work because of weather, they lose a day’s pay or employees’ pay is based on actual units of work undertaken, they would almost certainly remain entitled to receive pay.

Employees have statutory protection against an un-authorised deduction being made from their wages, so if the employer has no contractual right to deduct pay and if the employee does not consent, deducting pay would be potentially subject to legal challenge.

In any event, given the widespread disruption in many parts of the country and travel warnings not to make non-essential journeys, it is unlikely that many managers would take this step.

Advice for Managers who may feel that employee’s are taking advantage of the weather to have a day or two away from work instead of trying to get in.

You need to be clear, consistent and transparent. Tell your staff what your policy is.

While the initial blizzard conditions may have made travel to work almost impossible, you may judge that the weather and transport links have improved sufficiently so that staff could get in to work.

Theoretically, an employer might contemplate disciplinary action if they felt somebody was able to work but had chosen not to.

Anything else for bosses to bear in mind?

Bear in mind there is a potential health and safety implication. If authorities are telling people to stay at home unless their journey is essential then, potentially, you may not want to put too much pressure on people to return to work.

Employers have a duty of care to their employees and a potential liability may exist if employees were pressurised into travelling by car or foot when conditions were dangerous.

Employers should therefore take a balanced approach between encouraging employees to make all reasonable efforts to get to work and forcing them into a situation where they feel they have no alternative but to travel to work or risk facing possible disciplinary action.

Source: BBCNews

Let me know if this information was useful?

Dawn Pugh Therapy expert.

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