Shropshire solicitor provides advice for employers and employees when it snows

Feb. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- Telford, Shropshire, UK: We managed to get away with a snow free end to 2012, but the winter weather has more than made up for it in the first few weeks of 2013, causing a major headache for Shropshire’s working parents and their employers.

John Mehtam, the Head of the Employment Department at Martin Kaye Solicitors in Telford, says that the key to getting through the period of bad weather is for employers to try to be as flexible as possible with their employees.

Commenting on the large number of school closures seen at the height of the bad weather, John said: “No-one wants to receive the panic phone call that says your child’s school is about to close due to snow – it’s all well and good saying it’s in everyone’s best interests because of health and safety, but that doesn’t help resolve the situation”.

However, schools have been closing and there is nothing parents or employers can do about that, so John advises employers to be careful about how they deal with such incidents. It is a reality that sometimes employees have to take time off for emergency childcare when schools close due to snow.

John warns employers that “by law, staff are entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off work to deal with family situations like this and employers must take a sensible approach, even though it causes disruption in the workplace. If you don’t allow an employee to take time off to care for their child in such a situation, you could well be breaching their rights so it’s important to handle the request sensitively.”

To clear up any confusion and to make sure that everyone – both employer and employee - knows where they stand, John says the best policy for companies is to have a bad weather plan in place, and that this needs to cover more than just school closures.

“It’s not just about parents needing time off when schools are closed – what if your employees fail to arrive at the workplace at all because they claim they can’t get through the snow and ice? You have a duty to protect their health and safety, but of course you also need to balance this with the needs of your business.

“Your staff have no automatic legal right to be paid if they can’t get into work because of the weather, but check your contracts carefully as they may say differently. And if you’ve previously paid staff in similar circumstances, you may have already set a precedent which you now can’t ignore.”

John suggests that there are several options that can be considered if staff are unable to get to work, in order to ensure everyone’s needs are met.

“Ask your staff to take paid annual leave if they have any left available, or suggest they work from home. Employees could also take the time off as unpaid leave if they have no alternative, or agree to make up the time lost by starting earlier, working later or taking shorter lunch breaks once they’re back at work. Tricky weather conditions are difficult for everyone but by being flexible – whether you’re an employer or an employee – everything should balance out in the end.”

If you would like further advice from Martin Kaye Solicitors about employment law, visit their website at http://www.martinkaye.co.uk/for-business/employment/emplo...