Let it Snow - Employment Issues

As the Country continues to be hit with sub-zero temperatures, snow, ice and frost, widespread disruption continues. This disruption is certainly being felt by employers who are encountering at worst very high levels of absenteeism and at best large numbers of employees arriving late for work on a daily basis. It is timely therefore to look at employers’ obligations and rights arising out of this disruption.

The question being asked most often by employers in the current circumstances is whether they are entitled to refuse to pay an employee who is late or who fails to turn up for work at all arising out of the current icy conditions. The answer very much depends on whether it is the