According to Xpert HR, the cost to the Economy of yesterdayís snowfall is at estimated at anything between 3billion (The Daily Mail) and 900 million! (The Centre for Economics and Business Research). The Daily Mailís figures were calculated on the basis of 20% of the workforce being unable to make it to work, whereas CEBRís calculation are on the basis that 20% of the population having ìzero productivityî for the day - although CEBR note such figures are often prone to exaggeration.
The true cost is impossible to predict. What is clear however, is that at a time when businesses are already struggling, the impact of such a dive in productivity is not good for anyone.
But for some staff, bad weather is not only an inconvenience – it can cost them their wages. According to a poll by UK employment and health & safety experts, Croner, 52% of UK employers do not pay their workers when extreme weather conditions prevent them from coming into work.
Employment law dictates that the onus is on the employee to get to work, regardless of the weather. If an employee fails to turn up owing to bad weather, the employer is under no obligation to pay them. Arrangements can be made for the employee to work from home if practical, or the employer is entitled to advise the employee that they may take the time as paid annual leave or that the time off will be unpaid.
Although employers are well within their rights to cut employeesí pay for unauthorised absence, they should be communicating this to their workforce now to avoid them getting any nasty surprises. Those that have not made such a policy clear in advance, should avoid attempting to exercise it retrospectively.
Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, says: Although not a legal requirement, having a well-communicated adverse weather policy in place could help in certain situations to avoid conflict or confusion should an employee be late or fail to attend work altogether as a result of bad weather.
Croner advise, before cutting pay to consider ìfairerî options where possible – such as home working or making the time up at a later date. Also, employers should not risk putting their employees in danger by encouraging them to brave unsafe conditions in an attempt to get to work.
With a bit of forward planning for bad weather now, employers can feasibly allow employees to take unexpected time off as annual leave, or plan home-working solutions. With the prevalence of laptops and home internet systems, itís now much easier to enable employees to continue to perform their duties despite not being on site.î
Bad Weather Costs Economy Billions
Are Employers Obliged To Pay Their Staff During Absence Due to Bad Weather?
