Winter weather disruption
It's that time of year again when winter starts to bite - snow has fallen in some northern areas of the UK and even the south has seen its first bad frost.
If previous winters are anything to go by we can expect some level of disruption so with a little forethought we can really make a difference to how much it effects our businesses. As with many management decisions there is a trade off between being a good employer and protecting the business. According to ACAS there is no legal right for staff to be paid for travel delays but it's worth taking advice to see if your contracts cover such situations. The key though is to try and be flexible with both hours and location of work. Taking an understanding approach could actually boost morale and performance if you handle it well. Employees have to understand that there is a responsibility to you if you are being flexible - unlike one of my ex employees who boasted on Facebook that he was out building a snowman (complete with photo) when he told me he was hard at work!
Think about preempting the bad weather by implementing a policy for adverse weather. Decide in advance how you are going to handle lateness or non attendance, then discuss it with your employees so they know the situation. If you would like to be put in touch with an HR consultant who can offer advice we know some really good ones.
For more information and ideas have a look at the advice from ACAS