With winter just around the corner, you may want to think about how this can affect your business. This can be a good time to consider employee rights in winter to ensure the colder months run smoothly.
Adverse Weather and Employee Rights in Winter
Adverse weather conditions in winter can pose significant challenges for businesses, particularly in managing employee attendance and maintaining productivity. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you have an adverse weather policy in place.
Employers need to be mindful of their responsibilities towards staff during periods of severe weather, such as snow, ice, or flooding. While there is no legal obligation to pay employees if they are unable to attend work due to weather-related disruptions, it is important to have a clear adverse weather policy in place. This should outline expectations around attendance, the use of annual leave or flexible working, and any provision for remote working if applicable. Employers should also ensure that health and safety obligations are met, especially for staff travelling to work in hazardous conditions.
Employers have a duty of care to ensure that their employees are not put at unnecessary risk when travelling to or from work in hazardous conditions. It is important to regularly assess the risks, and where appropriate, provide guidance on safe travel or consider alternative arrangements, such as delayed start times or remote work. Open communication with employees is key to reducing confusion and ensuring that expectations are managed effectively. A fair and transparent approach will not only help maintain business operations but also foster trust and positive employee relations during difficult weather conditions.
Employee safety is a priority and if you’re able to offer flexible working, we encourage you to do so.
e-book content
Prepare for adverse weather in the workplace. This ebook contains:
- Adverse Weather Policy
- Flexible Working
- Annual Leave
- Company Vehicles
- Workplace Premises
- Do l have to pay employees if they can’t make it in to work?
Download the Adverse Weather in the Workplace eBook
Sickness
One of the biggest issues that a business can face in winter is the rise in staff sickness levels. The absence of your employee not only costs your business money, but it can also negatively impact productivity.
Think of ways you can be proactive during this period. You can encourage healthier lifestyles starting with providing fruit at work. Talk with your staff and ensuring they have a healthy work/life balance can be key when tackling this issue. You should also ensure that you have a robust sickness absence policy in place. This will ensure staff know what to do when they are too ill to work. You must also keep in mind employee rights in winter.
You must have a discussion with your employees to set clear expectations around unacceptable absence levels. Look at what happens if their attendance levels fall below standard process.
Return to work interviews are an important part of absence management. It’s your opportunity to ensure you understand what has caused your employee to be absent. You can confirm expectations on their return to work. These interviews help you to collect a paper trail which you can refer back to if absence levels worsen, allowing you to consider further action.
Company Vehicles
Ensure your employees are aware of what is expected of them when driving company vehicles. Although, take into consideration dangerous road conditions due to the dark winter weather.
Company car drivers must be aware of the responsibility they have to maintain company vehicles. They must regularly check tyres, oil, water, lights and other functions to ensure the vehicle is safe to drive.
It’s always good to be prepared when driving in winter weather conditions. You may want to consider encouraging your employees to keep anti-freeze, blankets and snow shovels in their company vehicles.
Work Place Premises
As a manager, it is important that you ensure car parks and pavements are well gritted. This can help to reduce the risk of work accidents.
If you would like any further guidance on how to tackle winter weather and employee rights in winter, please feel free to contact us now.
e-book content
There is a series of things you can do to encourage or improve good health and wellbeing; these play a crucial role in absence management, alongside the no-so-nice things, like disciplinaries for excessive or persistent absence, or those cases where you know your employee is pulling a fast one.
