Amber Weather Warning Issued Across England – What Does The Law Say On Employee Rights During Flooding?

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for an incoming rainstorm expected to impact 16 areas across the UK, with the potential to pose a “danger to life.” This weather alert applies across England from 6pm on Thursday 26^th September until 6am Friday 27^th September.

Those in affected areas have been urged to stay safe and avoid road travel, as 60mm worth of torrential rain is expected to cause flooding in multiple areas.

Regions affected are as follows:

In addition to this, an urgent tornado warning has also been announced which threatens to bring 50mph winds, hailstones, and thunderstorms to mainly southeast England and East Anglia.

This warning is to alert people to expect delays on the roads, possible road closures, difficult driving conditions, power cuts, and flooding.

Disruption to transport – along with the possibility of businesses and schools being closed, and homes being damaged – as a result of the bad weather could leave some workers struggling to get to work. Below, we have outlined what the law says on workers’ rights during flooding.

Worker rights during flooding

I can’t get into work because of the floods. Does my employer have to pay me?

Put simply, no they do not. Employees are expected to make every reasonable effort to attend work despite any severe transport disruption or road closures. If this isn’t possible, the employer is entitled to regard such absence as unauthorised. An exception to this might be where the employer provides transport (e.g. a bus service) and this is cancelled.

Some employers may consider allowing employees to request the time off as annual leave or to work from home. However, it is important to remember your employer should not force or pressure you to unnecessarily attempt the journey if there are legitimate safety reasons why you should not travel.

My child’s school is closed – can I take the day off work?

You are entitled to take a reasonable amount of emergency unpaid time off work to take care of your kids if there is unexpected disruption in their normal care arrangements – the closure of a nursery or school would qualify as an emergency. However, this is not time off to look after the child, but to make alternative arrangements for their care instead.

Many employers are more flexible though in these circumstances and will allow workers to take holiday at short notice or, if appropriate, to work from home or make the time up.

My workplace has closed for the day because of the weather. Does my employer have to pay me?

Unless your contract has a provision allowing for unpaid lay-off, your boss will still have to pay you if your workplace is closed because of flooding; this also cannot be marked down as a holiday. However, once again, they can request you work from home if you are able to.

If you are on a zero hours contract or your employer has a contractual right to decline to offer you work at short notice, they may not have to pay you. Also, if there is advance notice of bad weather, the employer could give prior notice to require employees to take their holiday.

My home is flooded – what should I do about work?

You are not automatically entitled to be paid if you need to take time off work to deal with the damage caused by your home being flooded. It is at your employer’s discretion to continue to pay you – as long as you make the time up at a later date.

Alternatively, your employer may request that you take the time off as paid annual leave, however, they cannot force you to do this without your agreement.

If I’m on annual leave and my employer shuts my workplace for the day, do I still have to use my annual leave for that time, even though the business is shut?

This depends on your employer’s policy and whether employees are still expected to work while the business is shut. You may be able to “claim your holiday back” if everyone else is being given a day off, but if other colleagues are expected to work from home or continue to attend appointments, then it is less likely.