Working in a Winter Wonderland - Know Your Rights

Once again, heavy snow fall is predicted this winter. This will inevitably lead to chaos for commuters, making it difficult or impossible for you to get to work. It is therefore, important to know your rights when extreme weather prevents you from attending work.

Children playing; having fun

Employees have the right to take time off to deal with unexpected emergencies affecting a dependant. It is likely that sudden disruption to childcare arrangements, such as a school closure, or the nanny not being able to get to work, would qualify as an ‘unexpected emergency’. However, the amount of time taken needs to be reasonable – usually only long enough to deal with the immediate crisis. You are also protected from suffering any disadvantage for exercising this right.

Will you get paid?

1. Where there is an ‘unexpected emergency affecting a dependant’
   No. You are not entitled to be paid for time off because of an ‘unexpected emergency’.
2. Where you are ‘snowed in’
   Casual workers - No. Piece-workers and hourly-paid employees with no guaranteed hours are not entitled to be paid unless they turn up and work.
   Salaried employees - Possibly. It will depend on how your employer has dealt with the situation in the past. If an employer has previously paid employees when they are snowed in, this will have set a precedent, and employees should continue to be paid. However, the same principle applies where they have not been paid.
   Alternative arrangements - In practice, few employers take the hard line of not paying staff, and instead come to alternative arrangements, such as:

• Allowing employees to take paid leave from their holiday entitlement
• Making up the time when employees return to work
• Working from home

Employer Policies

Some employers will have an ‘adverse weather’ policy in their staff handbook. This policy will set out conditions relating to pay, and requirements for reporting absence. It is important that you comply with the policy in order to receive any pay guaranteed under it.