The Rights Of An Employee During Bad Weather January 18, 2010
The frost season of this year has been unusually freezing than in the very last winter seasons. From Japan, Northern Europe and North America, finance news of blizzards and deep snow has created plenty of difficulties to lots of people.
As a consequence, lots of employees in the UK have been forced to miss a day or two at work. Heavy snowfall has constantly been a drawback and causes transportation and schools to be disrupted. But most of all, profit-losses total to millions for lots of businesses due to the fact that their workers had no other choice but to miss work to keep themselves out of probable harm’s way.
So if an employee cannot make it to work due to seasonal extremes, what are his/her rights in terms of wage and leeway?
To start things off, salary deductions are the most important worry for each employee when it comes to situations like this. Arguments and policies have to some extent become complicated and vary wherein the ultimate decision is generally based on the agreement between employee and employer.
For the most part, pay deductions on such cases are not allowed unless a particular specification is printed within the contract of the worker. Even though it’s possible, nearly all companies are expected to give sympathy especially in occurrences such as adverse weather.
There are also a number of companies that argue that employees who fail to report for work with no approval should have their pay deducted. This, however, will be resolved by the Employment Tribunal. Since there is no specific regulation on this matter, final decisions are made by taking into account the employee’s state of affairs.
A case such as this compels employers to determine whether the employee made all possible endeavor to head to the office. A simple phone call or other method of notification (email, text message, and the like) is adequate for most employers so long as there is incontestable proof.
If your children’s school gets closed and you have no choice but to stay home and look after them, the Employment Rights Act 1996 will back that condition and should defend you from any punishment so long as you inform your company.
Even with the security of law, it is still likely for your employers to deduct your pay in such a situation. To put off your employers form deducting your salary, you can file for sick leaves given that you still have it.
If your employer decides to deduct your salary, he/the company should state the reasons including the policies in a clear verbal or written form.
For people who are able to make their way to get to work even with a bad weather, don’t anticipate any tangible or foreseeable reward on the horizon. Individuals who do get to work are obliged to work harder in order to compensate for the ones who weren’t able to make it and expecting to get a day off in exchange will not be viable.
On the other hand, no good effort goes unnoticed. These are the qualities that could show the way to an employee going up a notch.