January 11, 2010
Employee Rights
The unusual bitter cold of the current winter season has befell countries around the world. Blizzards and more than 3 ft of flurry have enveloped just about every nation in the Northern hemisphere from Japan, China, Europe and the United States.
Employees all around the UK have no other alternative but to stay at home to stay safe from potential unfortunate occurrences that might transpire because of the weather. Intense snowstorm has always been a dilemma and causes transportation and schools to be disrupted. But most of all, a huge loss in profit is incurred by numerous businesses and companies because their workers get stranded due to difficult conditions and keep themselves out of possible harm’s way.
So if an employee cannot make it to work because of seasonal extremes, what are his/her rights in terms of wage and leeway?
To start with, pay deduction always comes to awareness when it comes to situations like this. The subject matter is somewhat complex and mixed in which the written contract signed by the employee will be the deciding factor whether he’ll be deducted pay.
By and large, employers are not allowed to deduct their employee’s pay except if a certain prerequisite is printed within the contract of the worker. Although it’s possible, companies are anticipated to be considerate for employees who certainly cannot show up for work due to unexpected bad weather.
Several companies argue that employees who are unable to show up for work without authorization do not deserve to get paid no matter what the circumstances are. This, however, will be decided by the Employment Tribunal. Since there is no specific regulation on this matter, the employee’s reason and situation will be assessed to bestow a proper judgment.
What employers commonly do is to determine whether the employee made all possible effort to report for duty. One small move employees can do is to inform their direct supervisor via telephone, text or electronic mail.
If you are a mom or a dad who needs to look after your kid/s due to their school being closed, the Employment Rights Act 1996 will back that condition and should defend you from any reprimand so long as you inform your company.
Even with the protection of law, it is still possible for your employers to subtract your pay in such a situation. To prevent your employers form deducting your wage, you can file for sick leaves given that you still have it.
If your employer opts to deduct your salary, he/the company should indicate the reasons including the policies in a clear verbal or written form.
If workers are able to get through to work somehow in the face of a bad weather, expecting some sort of recognition may not come about soon than you might think. Employees who do get to work are obliged to work harder in order to compensate for the ones who weren’t able to make it and expecting to get a day off in exchange will not be viable.
Then again, keeping up a good and consistent effort on the workplace will always be a plus point for any worker. These are the qualities that could show the way to an employee going up a notch.
