With parts of Britain colder than the North Pole, and snow covering much of the country, many employees are failing to turn up for work and, in some cases, the work is made more dangerous because of the weather. We set out below some common questions and answers to assist.
If an employee cannot get to work because of the weather, what is the situation as regards pay?
In principle, there is normally no reason why an absence due to the adverse weather should be treated differently from any other unauthorised absence as the employee must be ready and willing to work, unless you have an appropriate clause in your contracts of employment which provides for payment or it has become custom and practice to do so. Merely deducting pay in such circumstances could, however, leave you facing a claim for making unauthorised deductions from wages, so if you decide to take such action, make sure you are entitled to do so.
In practice, a common sense approach is likely to be the most effective and will avoid affecting morale which may have further implications to businesses. Many employers are treating absence days as holiday or allowing employees to agree to work extra time to make up for the absence. With regards the former, this must be taken with the employee’s agreement because the Working Time Regulations only allow an employer to stipulate when holiday is taken providing you give twice as many days’ notice as the number of days’ holiday you wish the employee to take. So if you want to make an employee take 2 days’ holiday you must have given them 4 days’ prior notice which is not achievable.
If the severe weather results in work being halted, you will normally still have to pay those employees who turn up for work.
What about disciplinary action?
A genuine inability to get into work is unlikely to be a fair reason to take disciplinary action but employees must ensure they notify the employer as soon as possible that they will not be attending work as per any absence policy. If you believe an employee is not attending work when they could have or they have failed to notify you then you should follow your disciplinary procedure.
Childcare disruption – what do I have to do?
If the reason given by an employee for its absence is the closure of its child's school or nursery and that alternative childcare arrangements cannot be made, the employee will be entitled to take the time to deal with this situation under the statutory provisions for ‘dependents care leave’. However, they will be expected to try and make arrangements where possible to find alternative child care. Whilst employees are not entitled to be paid for this time off, any failure by the employer to allow the employee time off for this reason could give rise to a claim.
Safety at work, what are my responsibilities?
The weather is not a mitigating factor as regards the provision of a reasonably safe place to work. Therefore, if you carry on working, make sure you take all reasonable precautions to keep your employees safe. If your premises prove difficult to keep warm, you can take some comfort in the fact that the maintenance of a minimum temperature in offices is not a statutory requirement.
What else?
It is important that whatever you do, you apply the rules consistently and that your actions do not amount to discrimination in favour of or against a particular group of people. If you have any doubt whatsoever about the rights and wrongs of your intended approach, call us for advice. It is also clear that such weather is likely to crop up time and again and you should ensure that you have a policy in place to deal with these circumstances.
