With the cold snap set to continue, employers are increasingly questioning what rights they have and what rights their employees have if they are unable to get to work because of inclement weather.
Unfortunately, there will always be some people who are more determined to get to work than others. Those who brave the elements are often resentful of colleagues who make little or no attempt to get to work. In contrast, all employees are likely to resent an employer who penalises them where they have made reasonable efforts to get to work but failed or where even attempting a journey would be perilous.
The TUC has recently suggested that where employees cannot attend work "scrooge bosses" should not penalise employees' by failing to pay their normal wages.
To some extent, such an approach is superficial as it fails to take into account the above factors, but also fails to take cognisance of the fact that in a recession some employers' finances simply do not allow them to make payment in return for no work.
The legal position is clear: where an employee does not attend work, on account of bad weather, then, unless there is a provision in their contract of employment to the contrary, they will not be entitled to be paid. The law is even clearer where employees cannot get to work due to a breakdown of childcare arrangements such as the closure of a school. In these cases, there is absolutely no legal right to receive payment.
Conversely, if, the workplace is closed, employees will have the right to be paid assuming they are available to work. However, failing to pay staff, particularly during the post Christmas period, is likely to cause resentment and ill will. There are accordingly, a number of practical measures you can take to alleviate the problem.
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The first of these is that employers use their discretion and pay employees their normal salary if they believe that employees have made a reasonable attempt to get to work.
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Home working. This is becoming an increasing option in the workplace generally. With the use of mobile phones and laptop computers many employees can carry out a large number of tasks from home and, in these conditions, this should be encouraged;
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Taking annual leave. Whilst employees may not wish to take annual leave at this time of year, it is often a better solution for employees rather then losing a day's pay;
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Making up lost time. Employees who lose a few days work could be asked to make up those hours in due course once the weather improves. This of course has to be a practical option for the employer.
Employers are also reminded of the need under Health and Safety Regulations to ensure that the workplace temperature is reasonable. The code of practice suggests that the minimum workplace temperature should be 16 degrees Celsius or 13 degrees Celsius where the work involves severe physical activity.
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