The People Bulletin

With Devon County Council being just one of a number of employers considering the option of docking pay from teachers unable to return to the UK from their Easter break, the Icelandic volcano eruption is set to be stirring up more than merely a cloud of ash.  A spokesperson for the local authority told the BBC ‘Our policy states that in situations where staff are unable to work because of events such as severe weather, and they are unable to take flexi time, annual leave, time off in lieu or work extra hours, they will be expected to take unpaid leave. However in light of the extreme circumstances caused by the volcanic ash, we are currently reviewing the application of this policy and will provide staff with further guidance as soon as possible.’

An estimated 150,000 Britons are thought to be stranded abroad and one of the issues facing their employers is whether they have to continue paying absent employees who have been prevented from attending work through what some insurers are calling an ‘Act of God’. Contractually, employees are rarely entitled to be paid during periods of unauthorised absence and the current circumstances would not – see our story: ‘Cold snap or quantitative freezing – the cost of snow chaos’ in The People Bulletin, 21 January 2010.

However, a poll carried out on 19 April by talent management specialist Ochre House among members of its HR network from over 600 of the UK’s leading employers indicated that 51% of respondents were planning to pay employees for days lost, 27% were intending to count as part of holiday entitlement and 23% were planning to split time with employees paying for half the days lost. The underlying theme seemed to be flexibility and sympathy for the employee’s plight rather than a tough stance.

As one HR director in a large construction company put it, ‘We are taking the view that this is an exceptional situation and asking managers to be flexible in deciding if and how much annual leave will be taken. Some employees can work remotely and if so we’re asking them to do this. We have also had a few new starters who have been stranded and not started in which case we will adjust their start date to when they return.’

‘More than four-fifths of organisations we polled had policies on this in place as of Monday,’ says the Ochre House Network’s director, Prashanie Dharmadasa, ‘however most admit that they are having to keep these under review because of the unpredictable nature of the crisis. At the moment the bulk of organisations are proving extremely generous but many are already flagging up that they can’t afford to keep this up indefinitely.’

The volcano eruption that has grounded flights in a way no climate change campaign ever could has, according to analysts, cost the UK economy £500m so far with airlines losing some £130m a day.   The Civil Aviation Authority re-opened British airspace at 10.00 pm on Wednesday, 20 April 2010.