With the arrival of Storm Agnes last week causing flooding and difficult driving conditions, it is important for employers to keep in mind that there can be instances where commuting to the office can cause travel problems or even be a risk to the safety of their employees.

In the first instance, employers should consider if adverse weather conditions are covered in their employment contracts. Some employment contracts may contain a provision for employers to put employees on short time working when an event, akin to adverse weather conditions, which is outside of the employer’s control, impacts on work. In such circumstances, it is unlikely that the employer is required to compensate employees for reduced hours, however, this will depend on the exact wording in the employment contract.  If there is no such contractual provision within the employment contract, a company’s decision to send employees home without pay could amount to a breach of contract which could lead to unlawful deduction from wages claims being made against the employer.

Even where contracts do contain short time working provision, employees may be entitled to a statutory guarantee payment for a complete ‘workless day’ under Part V of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. The maximum amount of a day’s guarantee payment is currently £35.00 for five days in any three-month period. If an employee earns less than £31.00 a day then he will get his normal daily rate.

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in remote working and it is likely that employers will be content with employees working remotely if adverse weather conditions pose a health and safety risk to their commute to the office. Whilst employees are responsible for their journey to and from the workplace, employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety of their employees. Therefore, employees should not have to travel into work in dangerous conditions and alternative working measures should be implemented where possible.

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