It’s Snow Joke: Author Julian Rogan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 6, 2011 -- (The article can be found at: http://www.globalblackswan.com/blog/it’s-snow-joke)

As the winter weather tightens its grip once again, the inevitable transport chaos a light-dusting of snow brings will inevitably lead to a large increase in people being unable, or unwilling to make the journey to their place of work.

Being a keen skier I have spent many a week in constant heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures and it never ceases to amaze me how our Eurozone cousins manage these conditions just fine, yet our infrastructure grinds to a halt at the mere glimpse of zero degrees. I once spent a week in Finland where temperatures ‘maxed out’ at minus 15 and still school buses ran, bins were collected and everybody went about their business without any fuss.

So what are the implications of not being able, or willing, to make it into the workplace during adverse weather conditions?

As an employer can you refuse to pay an employee for non-attendance due to adverse weather? The simple answer is yes as employees are entitled to be paid wages for the work they have done. If an employee does not attend their place of work to carry out the tasks that the employee is paid to do then there is no obligation for the employer to pay them. Some businesses have started incorporating adverse weather conditions into their contracts of employment to cover this scenario.

In the main we find that most employers exercise some discretion in this area as a gesture of goodwill. This also applies in circumstances where employees work reduced hours due to starting late or finishing the working day early due to adverse weather. By rights the employer can make deductions for this absence but again for goodwill we find that most do not.

Naturally most of these issues could be avoided with an intelligently thought out, coordinated and structured plan for dealing with periods of adverse weather. Winter is guaranteed to come around every, year yet is seems that local authorities are shell-shocked every time it arrives and deposits snow and ice across the region.

What is needed here is a plan. A proper plan, well thought out, detailed, structured and simple. A plan that will take the chaos we are currently having to endure and transform our crippled infrastructure into one that leads the way. A transformation agenda..time for a call to the Department of Transport to discuss how blackswan can get the country moving!

(The article can be found at: http://www.globalblackswan.com/blog/it’s-snow-joke)

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