This question entirely depends on what is stated in the employment contract you have in place with your employee. Usually, if an employee is unable to make it in to work because of adverse weather conditions, they can take annual or unpaid leave or more frequently nowadays, employers are comfortable with staff working from home.
There is no legal obligation to pay your staff if they are late in or do not arrive because of adverse weather, but this is where you need to consider your company line or how you want to look after your employees, and of course, you have some say in your employment policies and expectations of your employees. The government has a wealth of information and guidance available to you as a starting point, which can be found here.
Generally speaking, in the small business world there is more flexibility and more attention to work-life balance and the question of fairness comes into play much more prominently, perhaps as teams are smaller working to a common goal. For example, as a small business owner, you may already have a working from home policy in the business, and feel pretty relaxed if an employee works from home, for personal or adverse weather reasons.
Whatever your position is as a business owner, it is imperative that your employees are clear on your policies and they agree to them, if possible, via an employment contract.
If you are looking for advice on employing staff in your small business, please get in touch to see how we can help.
Written by Shaima Todd
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