Should employers pay staff for "Snow" Day

speedbird1973

Well we'll have to agree to disagree, although I actually don't think our "Opinions" are all that different right now?

It's not an industry I work it, but I get the impression a lot of staff in retail and the like are on "Zero Hour" contracts now anyway? certainly the newer ones. So in this field the whole debate is not needed. Likewise most office staff are salaried - so they'll be in a position to make time up as needed anyway. I really do thing we're disagreeing over semantics?

jdturk

speedbird1973 wrote: »

This is just wrong, plain and simple. Your employer can't force you to take a days annual leave, however if the office (for example) is shut then they don't have to pay you. As has been said before it's the fundimental point of your contract that you get paid to work, if you don't get work you don't have to be paid. If the office is closed because of the weather, it's not your fault. But it's not the fault of your employer either. A few of the teachers I know were now being told that they wouldn't be paid for time off unless they made a formal arrangement to make the time up.

By having an employment contract you agree to get paid in exchange for your labour. If that doesn't happen for ANY REASON AT ALL, then the contract is not being fulfilled.

You would be skating on very thin ground to refuse to pay someone that had made it into work because you decided to shut the office/factory etc. They have tried to keep their part of the contract but the employer has failed to keep theirs. If your theory is correct then why don't companys just shut down whenever they feel like it.....they don't because they would get taken to an ET.

However if the employee cannot get into work then it is accepted that they wouldn't get paid as they have not been able to meet their part of h contract

axomoxia

From what I can see, by closing the office, you are in effect laying off your staff - the same would apply should the workplace be flooded or suffer interuption to power supply.
Theres a legal opinion here http://www.out-law.com/page-10643 and the government http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Understandingyourworkstatus/Temporarylayoff/DG_10026693. From what i can see, unless it is in your contract that you will not be payed in a lay off or your industry is one where it is not usual to pay during a lay off, not paying your staff would come under an unlawful deduction of wages....

Another legal opinion http://www.hawkinshatton.co.uk/articles/Short-time-working-240609.pdf or from ACAS http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=814.

SP123_3

Any thoughts on this scenario?

Employees all in work, building gets evacuated part way through the day because of burst pipes. We are all sent home. We have a flexitime scheme - employer will only credit time up to end of core hours for that day, instead of a full standard day. In effect, we all lose a couple of hours of flexitime.

Is this right?

photographynerd

Hi there everyone,

I work in a Call Centre and am paid an hourly wage (when I was sick, I was unpaid for that day). I have been unpaid for three snow days, which I accept. However, I was taken aside by my supervisor yesterday who told me I must make up the hours (21 hours). I asked him if I had a choice, because I thought it was only salaried workers who have to make up hours (since they get the same number on their paycheque, but I get a monthly paycheque and the number is variable). Since I didn't get paid for my sick day, I assumed that I was not on a salary. He said, "The business lost money, so we need to get it back." and that, "We are contracted by *company* to employ for this many hours a week, so we need to make sure we fulfil that contract with *company*." I checked with my contract, and it's not clear whether I'm "officially" salaried or hourly.

To be honest, I heard through the gossip vine (a friend who was on the bus with another supervisor), that my supervisor (the one to took me aside) lost his bonus for the month for not having enough hours worked. What really angered me was that there was a Christmas party, which my "team" decided to do a performance for - Michael Jackson's thriller dance. So for approximately 70 hours of paid time, my colleagues went off the floor to "rehearse" with the manager of the team. My supervisor allegedly lost his bonus for this (he was away on holiday, and it was the Manager - his supervisor - who supervised the whole thing). I was already pretty P'ed at this because while they went off the floor to do some stupid dance, I (and other employees) were picking up the slack with the incoming phone calls. If we complained, we were "being poor sports" or "not team players".

I'm already looking for a new job and pretty unhappy with where I am, but where do I stand with all this? I live in Brighton and call centres are pretty much the only places to work, so I know beggars can't be choosers but I still want to take what rights I have.

I passed a training program which entitles me to a 250 pound bonus this month, so I really don't need to make up the hours, at least for my own personal gain.

jdturk

ignore gossip and repost it under a seperate thread to get better answers

photographynerd

jdturk wrote: »

ignore gossip and repost it under a separate thread to get better answers

Thanks for your considerate and well thought-out reply. You might notice that it says I have only posted once (now twice) under my name. Thanks for your patience as to the workings of this forum and how appropriate my post was for this thread. It was very relevant and I'm glad I found someone that has the dominance needed to show me who has authority and to keep me in line. I'm happy to say that you are nothing like the countless people I talk to via telephone on a daily basis - the kind of people who are rude to someone they've never met because it enables them to feel a sense of power that they'd never have been able to attain outside of an electronic world. It's refreshing to see that so many people are comfortable with their own status in life and don't need to resort to unnecessary comments or remarks. I must say that I found you to represent this forum in an outstanding, and in no way petty, light.

To make this post relevant to my last post (thanks once again to jdturk for his/her wisdom), I've used Holiday time. They can't force you to make up hours (for anyone like me who was searching Google for answers and may come across this thread).

I think I'll delete my account now. You've been so helpful that I don't ever see a need to return.

jdturk

photographynerd wrote: »

Thanks for your considerate and well thought-out reply. You might notice that it says I have only posted once (now twice) under my name. Thanks for your patience as to the workings of this forum and how appropriate my post was for this thread. It was very relevant and I'm glad I found someone that has the dominance needed to show me who has authority and to keep me in line. I'm happy to say that you are nothing like the countless people I talk to via telephone on a daily basis - the kind of people who are rude to someone they've never met because it enables them to feel a sense of power that they'd never have been able to attain outside of an electronic world. It's refreshing to see that so many people are comfortable with their own status in life and don't need to resort to unnecessary comments or remarks. I must say that I found you to represent this forum in an outstanding, and in no way petty, light.

To make this post relevant to my last post (thanks once again to jdturk for his/her wisdom), I've used Holiday time. They can't force you to make up hours (for anyone like me who was searching Google for answers and may come across this thread).

I think I'll delete my account now. You've been so helpful that I don't ever see a need to return.

Wow thanks for the sarcastic response. I was actually trying to help you but hey ho I won't stress over it

Bobl

jdturk wrote: »

Wow thanks for the sarcastic response. I was actually trying to help you but hey ho I won't stress over it

I would take that as a compliment - you were being helpful.

RobertoMoir

photographynerd wrote: »

Thanks for your considerate and well thought-out reply. You might notice that it says I have only posted once (now twice) under my name. Thanks for your patience as to the workings of this forum and how appropriate my post was for this thread. It was very relevant and I'm glad I found someone that has the dominance needed to show me who has authority and to keep me in line. I'm happy to say that you are nothing like the countless people I talk to via telephone on a daily basis - the kind of people who are rude to someone they've never met because it enables them to feel a sense of power that they'd never have been able to attain outside of an electronic world. It's refreshing to see that so many people are comfortable with their own status in life and don't need to resort to unnecessary comments or remarks. I must say that I found you to represent this forum in an outstanding, and in no way petty, light.

To make this post relevant to my last post (thanks once again to jdturk for his/her wisdom), I've used Holiday time. They can't force you to make up hours (for anyone like me who was searching Google for answers and may come across this thread).

I think I'll delete my account now. You've been so helpful that I don't ever see a need to return.

The point I suspect they were hoping to make is that your post would get the response it deserved if it was in a seperate thread of its own instead of tacked on to something else where it might easily be missed. Apparently you were in such a rush to assume people were being rude to you so that you could demonstrate your command of sarcasm that you never stopped to consider that.