News
Employers are being warned to act sensibly with regards to snow absenteeism
09 January, 2010
In recent reports business groups have predicted that the cost of absenteeism, due to the snowfall in the last few days, could be costing up to £2 billion. The Federation of Small Businesses reported that 10% of the UK’s 30 million workforce were unable to get to work on Tuesday, at a cost of £600 million.
While employers might have the right to refuse to pay employees if they are absent due to snow, they have been advised that they could be challenged and upholding employee morale should be considered. Employees who have children have a statutory right to time off when there is disruption to childcare services, and while employees are legally obliged to get themselves to work, there are “legal grey areas” around the issue. It was suggested that a better way of dealing with absenteeism due to the snow, might be to make up the time at another time.