Not making into work due to snow/travel - rules?

[SCSB79]

Guy who lives in the middle of nowheresville down in Kent is stuck. Can't get out of his house to even try and get to the station to see if trains are running.

Work are saying he'll have to take it as a days holiday - which I think is very unfair.

Is there any black and white "rules" on this? Or is it purely down to the companies own discretion?

[felt-tip]

our places usually allows one day off due to serious snow disruption but then you need to figure out alternatives for any days after that or take it as holiday which I think is fair.

[paragon]

I don't think it is fair. It isn't your fault you can't get in. Why should eat into your own holiday because of it.

[Brendan]

If you can work from home most employers will let you do that. Shirley?

Or else you could just say you're ill.

[SCSB79]

Our place must be the only employer that states in their employee manual that no one is allowed to work from home????!!!!!

[Keef]

I went to the station, there were no trains, I didn't wait around for them to solve it.

[ratty]

WFH or Holiday are our rules! I am in the bath! Don't work Wednesdays! Mmmmmmmmm warmth!

[Loz]

SCSB79 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Our place must be the only employer that states in

> their employee manual that no one is allowed to

> work from home????!!!!!

Our place used to get very sniffy about people WFHing and used to state that you could only do it if you had the OK of a senior manager and a set task to do.

Then they discovered that people working from home was cheaper for them than providing offices and desks...

[Jeremy]

Don't know if there's any black & white rule. But I would seem extremely mean for a company to force you to take hoilday.

[Keef]

Last year when we had lots of snow, Mrs Keef's employers (NHS) allowed them one day, but after that, said they had to use holiday. To me, this is a nonsense. If they allow one day, then they are clearly acknowledging that it is not the fault of the worker, so they should either allow nothing, or allow it all.

Obviously there would be people taking the p!ss though, so it's difficult to get the balance.

[JohnL]

Similar here - but working in IT I know that we had to check we had the bandwidth and licence requirements with so many VPN connections on a snowy day.

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> SCSB79 Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Our place must be the only employer that states

> in

> > their employee manual that no one is allowed to

> > work from home????!!!!!

>

> Our place used to get very sniffy about people

> WFHing and used to state that you could only do it

> if you had the OK of a senior manager and a set

> task to do.

>

> Then they discovered that people working from home

> was cheaper for them than providing offices and

> desks...

[Ramble66]

The problem is some people do take the p*ss. My husband managed to get to barking today on public transport. Just had to wait 15mins for a train to LB.

It costs the economy a lot of money when it snows. I am self-employed so only ever get paid if I work.... Unsurprisingly I can nearly always manage to get there. There have been times when I have made the effort and if I would have been paid anyway I wouldn't have bothered.

It's a very tricky situation. I think 1-2 day limit is fair.

[Keef]

  Quote

My husband managed to get to barking today on public transport.

Oh dear, puts me to shame, that's the way I go :-$

Saying that, I wouldn't have been able to do any outdoor mobility work with students, so would have been pointless, as I can do paperwork from home.

[KalamityKel]

A little "guidance"

[Mick Mac]

I waited for a train at Denmark Hill and got one after > 30 mins.

How I will get home is more important.

[Brendan]

I left work at 4:30 yesterday because I heard the trains from Victoria were a bit arse buggered. I got back to Surrey at 10:30.

[VeryBerryCherry]

  Quote

It is important that employers adopt a consistent approach and as far as possible provide advanced warning to employees of the approach which will apply.

Even in my own company I can't say it's a consistent approach.

Consulting staff allowed to WFH and Admin staff generally made to come in come hell or high water (maybe that's the next challenge - this snow business is getting boring anyway.) Consulting staff get 10x ???'s that Admin do.

Then we also have: One Admin staff member alllowed to stay at home while another made to take a taxi in.

Some sort of standaardized common sense approach would be nice. But yes I know it all depends on where people live.

[womanofdulwich]

i am on shaky ground here but if you have children or other dependents and you know your journey home is going ot take longer that normal I think you should be able to leave a bit earlier.But if you are Brendedd you would have to leave quite a bit earlier.

[Santerme]

I use our office in Highbridge, Somerset most of the time, so a 120 mile round trip by car from my home.

Beats Potters Bar or Aylesbury.

Today was first time we have been severely snowed on, but managed to get in..

Most of my staff can work from home in conditions like this and we do not penalise them for doing so as we operate in a real time environment and we can monitor and manage remotely.

[Huguenot]

That sounds intriguing Santerme, what kind of business is it?

[sophiesofa]

My boyfriends work van was snowed in 2 years ago in a car park and he tried for ages to get it out but couldn't so didn't go to work. Southwark council put it down as holiday but for the few that did turn up they got sent home on full pay. Grr

[Jeremy]

Santerme - so you don't live in ED?

[Ridgley]

I work in the Third Sector, my organisation are very flexible I been working from home.

[Santerme]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That sounds intriguing Santerme, what kind of

> business is it?

We actually run several quite diverse businesses within the group, including a manufacturing plant in the US....but the one which requires real time operatives in the UK, is a car and van leasing business (currently around 1,800 vehicles).

T

[Santerme]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Santerme - so you don't live in ED?

No, I was born there in 1958, went to DKH School, then to boarding school (which I loved for the sports, but loathed for the people), Tulse Hill School of all places and then off to Uni in 1977

I live in Cerne Abbas in Dorset as my main residence.