With 37% of the UK’s workforce commuting by train in 2020, there’s no getting around the impact that national rail strikes can have on small businesses. As more strikes are planned for 2023, employers need to have plans in place to handle potential absences. So, is your business ready and do your employees know their rights if they can’t get in to work?
Should employees be paid if they cannot get in to work?
Employees are responsible for ensuring that they can get in to work each day, and absences due to the rail strikes should technically be classed as unauthorized. In this instance you, as the employer, are not liable to pay the employee for any days they’re absent.
Because the rail strikes are planned and commuters are notified ahead of time, employees are entitled to request paid holiday for these dates, as long as enough notice is given. Standard guidance on length of notice required is clear: it must be a minimum of twice the length of time of the leave requested.
So, if one day’s leave is requested, two days’ notice is required. If your employee contracts specify an alternative notice period, then that notice period applies instead.
If home working is an option for your staff, this can be a potential solution to any employee not able to get in to work. Another alternative can be requesting that the employee makes up their hours at a later date.
Both options may be viable for you, but unless your employment contracts clearly state that employees can work flexibly, this cannot be a mandatory requirement or expectation of an employee. In other words, you can’t insist that they either work from home or make up their hours later.
Should employees be paid if the workplace is closed?
If the rail strikes force the workplace to close, and the employee is not able to work from home, then the employee will usually be paid- subject to the terms of their contract. If the contract allows, the employer could also ask employees to either travel to another branch (if applicable) or to work from home.
Should employees who pre-booked annual leave on strike days be entitled to claim it back if the workplace is closed?
If an employee has booked annual leave on a day that the workplace is closed due to the rail strikes, it’s generally at the employer’s discretion as to whether or not the holiday is given back.
Take into consideration other employees in the workplace- if they’re expected to work either from home, or by making up the time at a later date, the annual leave should not be returned.
How to deal with employees without childcare due to travel disruptions?
Some employees won’t be able to work from home due to disrupted childcare. In these cases, annual leave can be requested and it’s always worth employees asking if this is possible. In some instances, the employee will need to take unpaid parental leave- as long as they’ve been employed for more than one year. Although 21 days’ notice is usually required, employers can waive this requirement at their own discretion.
Employees can also request unpaid leave, but it may not always be accepted. The best way to resolve this is to keep an open dialogue, and try to reach a mutual agreement that will suit everyone.