Flint Bishop's employment law team discusses the impact of the Volcano Ash Cloud on businesses
Author: Ciara Millar
Last Updated: 4/27/2010 7:21:03 PM
Summary
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.
Article
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.
The Author
Ciara Millar, Flint Bishop LLP
Originally from Belfast, stopping at Spain and Scotland, Ciara
arrived in Derby to join Flint Bishop LLP in 2005 as a trainee
solicitor. She qualified as a solicitor at Flint Bishop in 2007
specialising on all aspects of employment law.
FLINT BISHOP LLP
Flint Bishop is one of the largest law firms in the East
Midlands, with offices in Derby and Ashbourne. It scooped the Deal
of the Year award at the 2009 East Midlands Property Dinner and was
named the UK's fastest growing law firm by the Lawyer magazine.
It is the first law firm in the East Midlands to have a member
of its management team listed in the Lawyer's Hot 100 list and has
also won PM Forum's Mould Breaking Firm of the Year Award.
The firm was short-listed for the Lawyer's Regional Law Firm of
the Year award and has been recognised as one of the top law firms
in the 2009 Diversity Table conducted by the Black Solicitors'
Network and Commission for Racial Equality. Most recently, it has
been listed as one of the Top Employers in Britain's Top Employer
2010 project.
Fo more information on Flint Bishop, view their website here: www.flintbishop.co.uk