Essex firm of solicitors Birkett Long has advised businesses to learn important lessons from the recent bad weather.
The country experienced some of the heaviest snowfall for decades in early January, forcing one in five UK workers to stay at home. Various employers refused to pay wages, forcing disgruntled workers to take ‘snow days’ as holiday or insisting they make up the hours, causing bad feeling between staff and management.
Martin Hopkins, employment law expert at Birkett Long, is urging employers to learn from this and take measures to put in place a bad weather policy to prevent future confusion and upset.
“Businesses are not legally bound to pay employees who cannot work due to bad weather,” he said.
“Employees are only entitled to be paid for work completed, but each employment policy will vary. Forward-thinking employers will be fair to staff, use their discretion and encourage alternative, flexible ways of working, such as working from home. What’s really important is that businesses draw up a bad weather policy now and communicate it clearly across the organisation, so if and when the white stuff returns, staff understand the consequences of missing work.”
Tribe has been providing corporate PR services to Birkett Long (one of East Anglia's largest full service law firms) since 2009.
Click here to read the East Anglian Daily Times article 'Employers urged to review snow policy'.
Posted: 30/01/2010