As holidaymakers have faced long queues at Dover and delays showing no signs of abating at airports – you may get stranded when you should be back behind your desk.
Problems are expected to intensify over the next six weeks as the holiday season gets into full swing, and there are worries about what will happen if staff are unable to return to work on the planned date due to travel problems.
Joanne Stronach, head of employment law and HR at Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, is urging employers to act reasonably to ensure that employees are treated fairly for problems which aren’t their fault.
If you are stranded and aren’t going to make it back in time – you must contact your employer as soon as possible to let them know.
Joanne said: “One of the first things employers need to know is how long the member of staff is going to be delayed for. If it’s just for a few hours, can they facilitate a later start or swap shifts to ensure their employee can return to work a little later than planned?
“But if the employee is going to be delayed for a few days, then they need to decide what is the best course of action and there are a few options available.”
Joanne said it would be reasonable for an employer to ask for flight or ferry information and details from an employee as evidence of the delay.
She added: “If the employee has holidays left, then the easiest action would be to put it down as paid leave, or they could ask the staff member to agree to do overtime for the hours missed if the employee wants it to be paid absence.”
If you don’t have any holiday entitlement left, your employer may agree for you to take the time as unpaid leave.
There is no legal obligation to give any additional time off as paid leave unless the employee takes it as part of their annual holiday or agrees to work the time back.
Joanne added: “If they have dependents, either children or adults they care for, then it could also be considered to be time off for dependents, which is unpaid leave as there would be no other alternative option available but to care for them while they’re all stuck in Spain, for example.”
Your employer could take disciplinary action if you do not turn up for work but Joanne said employers should avoid unless the delay is not genuine or the employee has not contacted the employer to explain what is happening, so just does not turn up.
Her message to employers is: “It’s best to adopt a reasonable stance as you don’t want to face an employee resigning and claiming constructive unfair dismissal case or raising a grievance against you,” said Joanne.
“Do you really want to lose good staff members at a time when it is increasingly difficult to recruit, and with the additional cost of recruiting a replacement?”
