Pictured above: Joanne White

Employers and workers across the UK are seeking reassurance in the aftermath of the travel chaos caused by the Icelandic volcano ash cloud.

One of the key concerns for employers will be whether the unplanned absence of stranded staff affects their annual holiday allowance or is treated as unpaid or paid leave.

Joanne White, of Midland-based Linder Myers solicitors, specialises in redundancy, disciplinary and grievance and family friendly issues and is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

Joanne confirms that employers are under no legal obligation to pay staff who were stranded due to the recent transport disruption, unless there is a contractual provision in their contracts. Joanne goes on to say that such a provision is highly unlikely but best practice would be for employers to give employees the choice of taking time they have missed as holiday or unpaid leave.

Employers cannot deduct salary from staff unless they have the contractual right to do so but if an employee does not turn up for work without prior authority from their employer, it can be treated as unauthorised absence and on this basis, employees are not entitled to be paid. This means that employers could withhold pay without any comeback."

Many employers are faced with the problem of staff who have been covering for colleagues over the past week.

Joanne's view is that "If employees are simply required to help out more, as they would be asked to do if a colleague was off sick, it would be reasonable for an employer to ask that of them."

1. Employers are advised to audit their records  to establish how many employees are affected. This will enable HR to assess the scale of the problem and also analyse whether any extra support is required to minimise disruption to their business. 

2. Employers should ensure they have a  policy in place to deal with future disruptions to their business. The policy should cover issues such as the steps their employees are required to take to try to get to work, the fact employees must contact their employer as soon as possible if they are unable to get to work and the consequences of them not being able to make it to work. This should reduce the scope for confusion and disagreement later on. 

3. Employers are entitled to require that employees make reasonable efforts to get to work but should also take into account  individual circumstances. Bear in mind there will be extra strain on alternative modes of transport during periods of disruption and employees may struggle to get to work even if they do not have to travel a great distance.

4. Employers should consider how they will treat absence due to transport, or indeed any other type of disruption (eg snow). As a general rule, employees must be ready and willing to perform their duties, so if they are absent from work without authorisation they are not automatically entitled to be paid. However,  if an employee is unable to get to work because of a natural disaster beyond the employee's control - employers may wish to be more lenient. Employers should be consistent in whichever approach they adopt, to try to prevent Employment Tribunal claims. They should discuss the options with affected employees upon on their return to work. 

5. Employers should consider allowing employees to work from home, where possible. This may be the best option if they are abroad as a result of a business trip. It would be difficult to ask an employee to take holiday if they have become stranded as a result of work. It may also assist the employer resume as normal trading as possible. 

6. Where employees are unable to get to work because they have been on holiday and have become stranded due to transport disruptions, taking additional paid annual leave may be an option. There is nothing to stop employers asking if employees would like to take extra holiday if they are unable to get to work. Many employees will find taking paid holiday preferable to losing a day's pay.

7. Employers should also think of other practical alternatives to requiring employees to take time missed as annual leave. For example, some employees may agree to make the time up at a later date or employers could allow employees to swap shifts. Again, this may also assist the employer resume as normal trading as possible. 

8. Employers should not place unreasonable burdens on employees who have not been away on holiday and have been able to make it to work. Employers have a duty of care to all their employees and should also bear in mind the maximum periods that they can require employees to work under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

9. Employers should remember that other organisations' employees may also be having difficulty getting to work, which may have a knock-on effect on their own staff. Where, for example, schools are closed due to key staff being unable to get to work, employees may have no option but to take time off to provide childcare. Depending on the circumstances, this may fall under the right to take reasonable time off in relation to dependants.

10. The benefits to staff morale and productivity in the long run of paying staff in these circumstances is likely to outweigh the financial burden to the business of paying employees who cannot attend work due to transport disruption beyond their control.