By Emily Eccles, solicitor, commercial & employment, at Mogers Drewett.
Industrial action resulting in travel disruption, such as the recent Tube and railways strikes, as well as adverse weather conditions can all impact on your ability to get to your place of work on time, or at all. Ultimately employers are able to use their discretion in extreme situations, but it is still sensible for an employee to take steps to plan in advance and agree any alternative arrangements with their employer.
Do I have the right to get paid for travel delays? 
Generally there is no legal right for employees to be paid for travel delays. However, some employers may have contractual or customary practices of making payments in these circumstances. Some employers may also choose to make discretionary payments for travel disruption. If these sorts of arrangements are in place they are normally contained in employment contracts, handbooks or collective arrangements or are expectations which have developed over time out of customary practice. Employees should check the position and if unsure, in the first instance you should presume that you won’t be paid for time incurred through travel delays.
Do I have the right to get paid if I am unable to get into work?
Similarly, there is no legal right to be paid if you are unable to get to work and whether you get paid will depend on what is provided for in your contract of employment. Some employers exercise their discretion and pay employees by way of a goodwill gesture. However, with flexible working and the advancement of IT, it is not always a requirement for you to be in the office to carry out your work, so think flexibly and use smartphones or laptops where possible to allow you to work from home.
What happens if there are school closures?
In an emergency situation an employee has the right to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of time off to take care of dependants.This would apply if there is an unexpected disruption or termination of a dependant’s childcare arrangements. An employee has no statutory right to be paid for any such time off and may instead be offered to take paid annual leave entitlement. Some employers have a ‘time off for dependants’ policy which would allow them to be paid. If this is the case and an employee is entitled to payment, it may seem unreasonable and divisive not to apply this to all employees affected who do not have dependants.
Will my employment be terminated?
This is unlikely to be a reasonable response to an employee failing to make it into work on a particular day; however, if the employee develops a pattern of absence then they could be grounds for the employer to take disciplinary action.
