Stranded employees can still work for pay, Society advises

Employees stuck overseas because of airport strikes, bad weather, delays or cancellations could still be entitled to payment if they are able to carry out work, the Law Society of Scotland advised today.

Ahead of the Christmas and new year holiday period, the Society has pointed out that while workers facing unexpected travel difficulties are not automatically entitled to pay if they cannot get to work, those who can work remotely and have offered to do so, should be paid for their time by their employers.

Solicitor Joyce Cullen, convener of the Society's Employment Law Committee and a partner at Brodies LLP, said: “If an employee cannot attend for work because they can’t get a flight home or even if the weather locally is so bad that they can’t make it into their usual place of work, then generally no payment is due. But, if it is feasible for an employee to work remotely via a laptop or smartphone, and they offer to do so, then payment should be made.”

Ms Cullen also flagged up the issue of parents facing the problem of their children’s school being closed due to adverse weather conditions.

She commented: “In these emergency circumstances, parents and carers are entitled to what is known as 'time off for dependants’. This is unpaid time off to look after dependants, and the right to time off may vary according to individual circumstances. In these situations some employers may provide for employees to use their holiday entitlement instead, but this will only apply if the employee agrees to do so and the employer is happy to offer that choice.”

Other options available for consideration by employers in such unplanned situations include allowing employees to take extra unpaid holidays, requesting employees to take extra holidays or allowing employees to make up the lost time by working additional hours on return. Or an employer could simply make a goodwill gesture and continue to make payment of salary as usual, if only a short time has been lost. These may be circumstances where a pragmatic, rather than a legal solution is best.

Ms Cullen added: “Exercising judgment and a good measure of common sense often works best, allowing working arrangements which have been disrupted to be resolved and potential claims avoided. However, where discretion is exercised it should be done fairly and consistently.”