Employer advice for Employees Stranded Abroad

Employees of businesses across the UK have been unable to attend work due to being stranded abroad.

Employers have had to make arrangements at short notice to cover the duties of absentees, often at additional expense.  This poses the question whether employers are obliged to pay employees who are stranded abroad.

Only rarely will a contract of employment provide for paid time off where the employee is unable to get to work due to travel disruption.  In almost all cases there will be no contractual obligation to pay the employee.

Typically, the employer only has a duty to pay an employee who is willing and able to turn up to work.

Therefore if an employee is unable to attend work the employer has no obligation to pay the employee.

Strictly speaking, employers could withhold pay of those employees stranded abroad or they could force them to allocate holidays to the days in question.  Alternatively, employers could advise the employees they will pay them for the period of absence but they will be expected to work overtime on an unpaid basis at another time.

While the above approach may well be legal, withholding pay will have a serious impact on the morale of the employees.  Many stranded employees may feel it is entirely unjust to deduct pay when they have been unable to attend work through no fault of their own, particularly where they have spent additional sums of money in an attempt to get back as soon as possible.

It is worth bearing in mind that many employees commonly do unpaid extra work by starting early or finishing late.  They are likely to be much less inclined to do so in future if the employer withholds pay for failing to attend work while stranded abroad.  Furthermore, low morale may well lead to employees being more inclined to seek new opportunities elsewhere.

As the airlines are now functioning again and the crisis appears to be coming to an end, most employers are likely to conclude the short term benefit to the business of withholding pay is simply not worth the loss of morale. 

For further information or advice on employment matters please contact the Employment team on 01254 258321