There’s a storm a coming! As we are all well aware from living in Ireland, our weather can often be very unpredictable and can throw a large amount of challenges at employees and employers as result when it comes to getting to the place of work. Be it wind, rain or snow it can all leave the employer with the question of ‘what do I do now with my employee? What are my obligations?’ Indeed, our 24 Hour Advice Service received a significant increase in this question from clients at the beginning of October due to the storm on Sunday 05 October 2014 which led to power outages and Met Éireann issuing Code Yellow weather warnings.
With a tough Winter predicted, with some quarters predicting snow(!), it is important that employers are mindful of the employment law and HR implications of bad weather.
Key Issues Considerations
The key considerations for employers associated with bad weather may be categorized as follows:
- Where the employee is unable to attend for work due to disruptive weather in circumstances where the employer is still open for business.
- Where employees make themselves available for work but the employer is closed due to the disruptive weather
- Health & Safety Considerations?
- Temporary Lay-Off and Short-Time Working?
Where the Employee is Unable to Attend for Work
Firstly should an employer find themselves in a situation that the business is still open but the employee themselves cannot attend due to the inclement weather, there is no obligation that an employer would have to pay the employee for the time that they have missed, unless the employer has a specific policy or custom of paying in such eventualities. This equally applies where an employee is late to work due to the bad weather or where they have to leave early to avoid bad weather and traffic. Alternative options can be considered at times like this including annual leave, unpaid leave or, if applicable to the company, time in lieu.
Where Employees Make Themselves Available for Work
A common occurrence is where the employee is willing and able to attend for work but the employer is unable to open the workplace due to the inclement weather (e.g. flooding, frozen pipes etc.). In these circumstances, the employer would generally be required to compensate the employee. The basic reasoning here is that the employer has undertaken a contractual obligation to provide work for an employee during specified working hours. Where an employer is unable provide such work then they are breaching the terms of the employee’s contract and the employees ought to be compensated for their time out of work. Again in situations like this consulting with the employees as to whether they would like to take annual leave or unpaid leave can also be considered as an option.
Health and Safety Considerations
One must also consider health and safety obligations and whether or not it is a reasonable of an employer to request to ask an employee to travel a significant distance in circumstances that may pose a risk or a danger in doing so. For example, it may be deemed inappropriate to ask an employee to commute 40 miles in conditions less favourable including icy roads or flooding conditions.
Temporary Lay-Off and Reduced Hours
In the event that an employer finds themselves unable to call their employees to work, for the reasons discussed above, the employer will need to make an assessment as to how long potentially the business is going to be closed for. If it is a possibility that the business will be closed for some period of time then you would need to consider whether it is best look at a period of temporary layoff or possibly short time or reduced working hours for the employees until such time that the business can open once again. You should ensure that you have a temporary shortage of work clause outlined in your employee handbook or contract of employment and that the employee has received and signed this document.
In conclusion it is important for employers to identify their obligations to their employees before taking any action. In light of the above, if an employer believes they are obliged to compensate the employer for days out of work then they should meet with the employer to seek to arrange a mutually agreeable solution.
What is most important is that if you are faced with a scenario such as those outlined above that you contact the Peninsula 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 855 50 50 where one of our experienced HR experts will be on hand to advise you throughout the process.
