The news that Dublin Bus has voted in favour of strike action and will be taking to the pickets this Sunday is sure to cause some disruption to commuters, not least to those attending the Oxygen festival in Punchestown. However if the strike was to push on into next week, how will employers be affected?
The threat of strike action has been prominent for some time now, with Labour Court recommendations being disregarded by the employees union in favour of strike action, and the employers admitting there is no contingency plan in place for this. Employers could see an increase in absenteeism and/or lateness as a result of the disruption, and for those that can only get to work via the bus network it could mean loss of wages. But how can we put in place measures to minimise the impact?
- Employers should look at some flexibility in their absence or lateness procedures to take account of genuine reasons employees may give for their lateness
- Early start and or finish times could be considered to allow for employees getting alternative transport to/from work
- In some cases working from home could be considered to facilitate those stranded without the buses
- if an employee is unable to attend present the option of taking the time as annual leave, or if they are unwilling to inform them it will be unpaid leave
- consider car pooling with fellow employees who may drive to work and live in the same area.
It would be foolish to believe that it will not directly affect employers as a large majority of workers rely on public transport to get to/from work, so by having some of the above measures in place and employer can ensure they are out ahead of this disruption and the impact on the business is minimised.
