Extreme weather conditions have been evident throughout most of the UK this winter, and, inevitably, this has had an impact on employee attendance in many areas.

With more snow expected to reach our shores in coming weeks, employers should know where they stand legally on this important matter.

According to the law, employees who do not attend work are not obliged to be paid, even if their absence is because they were unable to reach their workplace due to adverse weather.

Employers are advised to be as reasonable as possible in such situations, and should be sure to let their absent employees know what the situation is and what their options are. Employees can either:

• Take unpaid leave.
• Use some of their annual leave allowance.
• Make up the lost time at some later date.

In some situations, it may be feasible for an employer to give workers the chance to work from home - if this option is taken, then the employee must be paid for the hours worked.

Where the employee attends work but the employer is unable to offer work due to bad weather - for example, on a building site or if an office has to be closed due to flooding - the situation is effectively reversed and the employer must pay his workers even if there is no work for them to do.

Alternatively, if the employee’s contract has a suitable lay-off clause, they may be laid off for the day and the employer will only have to pay the Statutory Guarantee Payment.

To avoid confusion over this issue in the future, employers should draw up an Inclement Weather policy for inclusion in the Employee Handbook. This should set out how inclement weather situations will be dealt with by the company so that employees know where they stand should the situation arise.

Technorati Tags: Absence From Work, Inclement Weather, Unauthorised Leave