Adverse weather can bring disruption to businesses and their staff. Gemma O’Connor explains how an adverse weather policy can help employers to minimise its impact
Adverse weather can bring power outages, high winds, and flooding and can cause major destruction of towns and villages across the country.
Furthermore, employers dealing with storm and weather warnings may also face staff absenteeism. So, what can they do if employees are unable to be at work for the day because of the effects of poor weather conditions?
Experts recommend putting an adverse weather policy in place.
Pay obligations
Payment obligation is a common topic employers ask about when bad weather strikes.
A strict interpretation of the law allows employers to determine whether payment is owed to employees for workdays they miss due to extreme weather.
If a company’s premises are open but employees are absent, there is no legal obligation to pay them for what is technically an unauthorised absence.
Choosing to withhold pay should be considered with care, however. Doing so may affect staff morale and your reputation as an employer.
Employees may also rely on prior experiences to argue that payment is due. If an has organisation paid absent employees during a previous weather warning, they will expect the same going forward.
During an extreme weather event, it is possible that companies may need to close their premises. When employees are sent home or told not to come to work due to adverse weather, it is recommended that they be paid as normal.
Employee options
If employees can’t attend work due to the extreme weather, there are a few options available:
- Ask them to work from home and continue to pay them as normal.
- Allow them to make up any missed time later.
- With the agreement of the employees, the organisation could deduct any absences from their paid annual leave entitlement.
Many people are already currently working from home. Employers with remote working arrangements should include a clause on working from home in their adverse weather policy.
This clause could specify, for example, that staff are permitted to work from home during periods of bad weather and will be paid as normal even if the employer’s premises are closed.
Change of roster
An employer is entitled to change a roster at short notice in exceptional events, including extreme weather.
Keep in mind that outside of these exceptional circumstances, however, employees are entitled to a notice of at least 24 hours for any roster change.
Employee safety
As an employer, the safety of employees should always be paramount.
An employer’s statutory duty is to provide a safe place of work. This also includes ensuring that employees are not required to undertake a hazardous journey to get to work.
Employers should know that, if public transport isn’t operating, they face a heightened risk of claims and reports to the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) by employees who suffer accidents on their way to work.
Time for a policy
Adverse weather can be a reminder and an opportunity to develop your own internal policy regarding how weather warnings will be handled. If this policy is reasonable and clearly communicated to employees, organisations can minimise their exposure to the winters of employee discontent.
Gemma O'Connor is Head of Service at Peninsula Ireland
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