It can and does happen! So, how do you handle it?
1. It’s the employee’s responsibility to get in touch with the employer
As soon as it became apparent to the employee that they are not going to be able to return to work as expected, they have a responsibility to get in touch with their employer to let them know this. Let’s face it, these days, almost everyone has a mobile phone so there shouldn’t really be an issue for this to happen.
Ideally, they would give as much notice as possible to give their employer time to make alternative arrangements for the days they expect to be missing (as much notice as is possible, of course. Some employees may not yet know when they will be able to return home and so will not be able to say how many extra days they will be out of the business).
2. Normal absence rules apply, even if the employer knows they are in an area affected by flight delays
Normal absence notification procedures should be followed, as per internal policy. Employees should not assume that their employer will have heard about the issues with flights and know that they are affected; they should get in touch in the prescribed way to discuss the situation and keep the employer informed as and when anything changes with it.
3. It’s unauthorised leave if they don’t get in touch
If the employee does not get in touch, it still counts as unauthorised absence — again, even if the employer is aware that the employee travelled to an affected area, as the employer has no way of knowing if the employee’s plans changed last minute or if they were able to get home as intended.
Once the employee makes contact and confirms why they are/were not back in work as intended, if normal absence notification procedures have not been followed, employers should investigate to find out why. It may be that the timings of their delayed flight meant they were unable to get in touch when they should have, so it’s important that employers keep an open mind here, but if there is no good reason for why they did not get a message through to their employer it is potentially a misconduct matter.
4. There’s no obligation to pay, but an arrangement should be sought
It is likely that the employee’s absence will last only one or two days, but on their return, employers should try to come to an agreement with the employee over how to categorise the absence; eg agree that more annual leave is to be taken (applied retrospectively to cover for the days they were absent) or that the employee can use up some time banked in lieu. As the time will be covered in both of these cases, pay will not be affected.
However, if no other arrangement can be made, such as where an employee has already used all of their annual leave for the year, unpaid leave is likely to be the most appropriate option. Remember that although the employee is not in control of their circumstances, neither is the employer and there is no legal obligation to pay employees who are absent for this reason unless their contract contains a provision to the contrary.
5. It might be a misconduct issue, but dismissal is unlikely to be reasonable
Unauthorised absence can be a reason for dismissal but, where an employee has at least two years’ service, dismissals need to be reasonable and meet procedural requirements. Dismissal for absence caused by a flight delay is likely to be unreasonable if the employee has a clean disciplinary record, but each case will turn on its facts. If an employer chooses to pursue this route, they should be careful to ensure that the dismissal is not discriminatory and be wary that there is the potential for an unfair dismissal.
6. Use this as an opportunity to remind employees of the rules
Whatever happens in individual cases, this will be a good opportunity to remind (or inform) employees about what they should do in these circumstances. This could be through a company-wide memo or a reminder in team meetings. If the holiday policy deals with this issue specifically, reference can be made to that, but in any event, awareness should be raised of the procedure to follow in cases where an employee is unable to return to work as planned.
Please get in touch if you need advice and support on how to manage this issue!
