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The impact of the volcano ash cloud on businesses
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Now that the dust has settled so to speak, we can begin to assess the true impact of the cloud of volcanic ash, which has been wreaking havoc across Europe recently.
After a volcano erupted in Iceland spreading ash across the UK, our airports were immediately forced to cease flight activity and planes remained grounded for almost a week. To date, some 150,000 UK residents have been stranded abroad with an estimated seven million passengers affected by the blanket ban on flying, which was imposed by the Government on the grounds of safety.
It is estimated that this situation has so far cost the aviation industry an estimated £130 million per day and the UK economy a massive £500 million.
The timing has not been ideal as the situation arose immediately after the Easter holidays when many people were returning from holiday. With many employees being unexpectedly stranded and unable to work, a range of sectors has been impacted, particularly the import/export market, which relies on aviation.
These unprecedented circumstances were witnessed on a smaller scale when snow chaos hit the UK early this year and despite being faced by a similar scenario, there may still be some employers who may not have the procedures in place to cope with the ramifications of this type of situation.
With staff starting to return to work after this enforced lay-off, the question ‘to pay or not to pay’ will now be on many employers’ lips. The general position is that employees are only entitled to be paid for work done. This is subject to their contract of employment or any other workplace policies in place. A contract and workplace policy should always be the first point of reference for the employer. If the contract provides that an employee will be paid if they are unable to attend work because of matters beyond their control, there is a contractual right to pay them. In the absence of this, an employer can exercise their discretion and pay the employee as a gesture of goodwill.
There are also a number of other options available to the employer like suggesting they take annual leave, unpaid leave, make up the lost time or work remotely, if the latter is feasible.
It is possible for employers to ask employees who are unable to attend work to take those days as annual leave and in this case, employment legislation states that an employer must give at least twice the length of notice of the holiday they wish an employee to take; therefore, if an employer wishes an employee to take two days leave, they must give four days notice. In the current circumstances, this may not be possible. It is important to note however, that the legislation does allow employers to exclude this obligation in their contracts of employment and most will have done so. In this case, employers can require staff to treat the days as annual leave without the need for notice. As always, in the first instance, check what the employment contract states.
In these unique circumstances, travel plans have proven to be expensive and limited. Therefore, only in very extreme circumstances would an employer be justified in forcing an employee to return to work. Very few people are thinking of this situation as a welcome extended holiday and employers should be sympathetic to the unique difficulties that an employee may be facing in trying to get back to the UK.
In view of the situation, it would not be reasonable to take disciplinary action against employees who are unable to return. However, in some circumstances disciplinary action may be warranted, for example where an employee makes no attempt to contact their employer or to keep them updated as to their travel plans.
Any decisions taken by the employer must be consistently applied to all employees. Parents who are forced to stay at home to care for children may be covered by the legislation giving them the right to unpaid time off to deal with emergency situations.
Be mindful not to discriminate against any employees or apply any policy/decision making which may have a discriminatory impact. Employers must at all times act reasonably and must not act in any way that could damage the employment relationship. It is advisable for employers to come to an agreement with their employees as soon as possible.
Employers should consider devising a clear and consistent policy that deals with unexpected leave. The swine flu epidemic and the snow chaos of January 2010 has meant that the need for employers to implement contingency plans to deal with unexpected events is becoming more frequent. Devising a clear policy will ensure that both the employer and employee know exactly where they stand. This will minimise the potential for future claims, disgruntled employees and uncertainty when these events occur.
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