Volcanic Ash Travel Delays & Work

Eruptions from the volcano in Iceland are now thought to be weakening but, for the time being, weather patterns continue to blow volcanic ash towards the UK. 

NATS are continuing to advise restrictions on UK airspace until at least tomorrow (Tuesday 20th April 2010) morning.

With the eruption taking place during the Easter holidays, many UK employees – as well as UK businesses - have found themselves affected by this event as in excess of a million British airline passengers remain stranded across Europe.   

Advice for Employers on Travel Disprutions caused by Icelandic Volcano Eruption

The following principles and practical suggestions will help employers take a fair and reasonable approach where their employees find themselves unable to attend work due to the current disruptions in air travel.

Key Principles

• Employees are responsible for getting themselves to work, if the employee does not arrive at work, the employer does not have to pay them*
• If an employee arrives at work late due to travel disruption, the employer does not have to pay them for the hours not worked*
  
  *Unless there is a contractual provision that states otherwise.

Practical Suggestions for Travel Delays

Where it is possible or practical to do so, employees should attempt to utilise alternative methods of transport in order to be available for work.  However, where employees have been left stranded abroad, employers should consider the following practical options:

• Allowing employees to work remotely from an alternative location/site wherever this is practical/possible.
• Allowing employees to use any outstanding lieu time or flexi time where this is available.
• Allowing employees to take the time as additional holiday, where this is available (although remember that employers cannot require employees to take holiday entitlement at short notice).
• If none of the options above are possible, then time off work would be unpaid or, alternatively, it can be paid at the employer’s discretion.

Questions and Answers

Q. Is an employer required to pay employees who cannot make it into work as a result of air travel disruption?

A. The employment relationship is based on the employer paying wages in return for work performed by the employee. If an employee cannot report for work, even where this is absolutely no fault of their own, the employee is not legally entitled to be paid unless their contract of employment specifies otherwise.

Employers may choose to pay employees in these circumstances anyway, despite not being legally obliged to do so, or come to some other arrangement - where the employee takes the time as annual leave, for example or makes up the time at a later date, where this is appropriate. This will be up to the mutual agreement of the employee and employer and will obviously be dependent upon the period of time the employee is unavailable to attend work.

It is advisable that employers implement a policy for dealing with different types of absences and apply it equally and consistently throughout the workplace. If they do so all employees will be aware of how their absence will be treated in advance and accordingly a dispute over leave or pay is far less likely.

Q. Where school closures are necessary due to insufficient teachers being available to teach at the school - and an employee has nobody to look after their child at such short notice, what are the implications for that parent?

A.  Employees have the right to unpaid time off to deal with emergency situations regarding their dependents. While this would not normally apply to a situation where the employee was required to look after their children as a result of not having any childcare arrangements in place, last minute school closures would be seen as constituting an emergency situation and employees would be entitled to statutory protection for taking the day off.  Again the employer would be entitled not to pay the employee for this day, but may choose to do so.