As the hospital where I work seems to have hit the local headlines regarding the policy for "snow leave" I was just wondering, for those that had to stay home due to the snow..
I did some work from home so I'm just taking an extra 1/2 day to be honest I normally end up working that much extra time anyway so may not even take that. My boss said for me not to come in as it was dangerous for me to be walking. There were no busses and no chance of parking close if I had risked driving. I guess from where I live if I'd been fully able bodied I could of walked in so maybe I should argue that!
I got into work, though I accept that not everyone could, BUT, thought I'd add in here what my company did. They basically gave those who couldn't get in the day off. Paid leave. Nobody had to take a days leave. It wasn't a sick day, it was essentially an "act of god day" I guess you could call it. When due to reasons beyond your control you could not get to work.
Though true, I am now pissed that I don't get 2 days extra paid leave because I got in and others didn't. Hrm, maybe I should go for that option and see if I can get the days back?
At the end of the day there is a cost associated with the time off. For most businesses, even though the salary is already budgetted and therefore hard to see as a 'loss', the work that should have been done on that day now needs to be done on another day, so they will need to pay overtime, or get a contractor, or delay another project, etc. So it is going to cost money. But by forcing you to take the day unpaid or as leave, they transfer this cost to you.
Personally (and speaking as a department head who sometimes makes these calls), I think that is petty and small minded. Media hysteria asside, the money involved is pretty trivial compared to a company budget and they are far more able to absorb it than the individuals. In fact I'd go as far as to say they will lose more money via lower productivity from the bad feeling and lower morale, than they will save by stiffing the cost of an 'act of god' onto thier staff.
they closed my office on one day, which was given as a free day, seeing as even if we made it in, we couldn't work.
Other days we were expected to come in, work from home, or make up hours.
In 2003 when the snow was last really dreadful and people were being advised not to travel it took me over 3 hours to get to work, on a train which died halfway to work, then 3 buses and a 30 minute walk in the snow. I was soaking wet and freezing cold by the time I got there, I'd been phoning in every 20 mins or so with an update, each time being told 'please try to make it in, we're really short because of the weather' and when I made it in, there were no thanks or anything, just me being asked when I was going to make the time up. I was furious, especially when I discovered that those who hadn't made it in were given a day of leave!!!!
The big problem is defining "necessary". A lot of talk is made about "avoid unnecessary journies" but nobody really knows what is a necessary and unnecessary job.
I think employers should classify jobs as necessary and unnecessary for emergency planning.
For example, a nurse in a hospital A&E ward is probably always a necessary job. Admin staff in a hospital finance department probable are not. A social worker probably is. A bus driver probably isn't unless it is a major route. My job, managing programmers who deliver systems to collate university stats for central government, is not unless there is a government publication deadline that week.
If employers just classed each job in advance, people would know how much risk to take. Also, employers could focus their efforts on ensuring that necessary employees could get to work - providing additional funding for transport or communications where necessary.
The trouble with this is that most employers (as anyone who has ever done DR planning will attest) have a pretty weird idea of what essential is.
Certainly I would expect your employer to classify some if not all of your jobs as essential, as they will almost invariably interpret it as essential to thier operation, rather than essential to society as a whole.
If we wanted to go down this route you would need government to make a rulling on what is classed as an essential job for society as a whole, somewhat how petrol was rationed when the fuel strikes were on. But frankly I'd be dubious of a government body created to do that and in the final analysis I suspect that like a proper fleet of snow plows its just too much bother for something that doesnt happen all that often.
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Just a thought - can you hit them with the DDA ? Making you come in on a day when it is not safe for you to travel... :-)
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Though true, I am now pissed that I don't get 2 days extra paid leave because I got in and others didn't. Hrm, maybe I should go for that option and see if I can get the days back?
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Personally (and speaking as a department head who sometimes makes these calls), I think that is petty and small minded. Media hysteria asside, the money involved is pretty trivial compared to a company budget and they are far more able to absorb it than the individuals. In fact I'd go as far as to say they will lose more money via lower productivity from the bad feeling and lower morale, than they will save by stiffing the cost of an 'act of god' onto thier staff.
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Other days we were expected to come in, work from home, or make up hours.
In 2003 when the snow was last really dreadful and people were being advised not to travel it took me over 3 hours to get to work, on a train which died halfway to work, then 3 buses and a 30 minute walk in the snow. I was soaking wet and freezing cold by the time I got there, I'd been phoning in every 20 mins or so with an update, each time being told 'please try to make it in, we're really short because of the weather' and when I made it in, there were no thanks or anything, just me being asked when I was going to make the time up. I was furious, especially when I discovered that those who hadn't made it in were given a day of leave!!!!
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I think employers should classify jobs as necessary and unnecessary for emergency planning.
For example, a nurse in a hospital A&E ward is probably always a necessary job. Admin staff in a hospital finance department probable are not. A social worker probably is. A bus driver probably isn't unless it is a major route. My job, managing programmers who deliver systems to collate university stats for central government, is not unless there is a government publication deadline that week.
If employers just classed each job in advance, people would know how much risk to take. Also, employers could focus their efforts on ensuring that necessary employees could get to work - providing additional funding for transport or communications where necessary.
Reply
Certainly I would expect your employer to classify some if not all of your jobs as essential, as they will almost invariably interpret it as essential to thier operation, rather than essential to society as a whole.
If we wanted to go down this route you would need government to make a rulling on what is classed as an essential job for society as a whole, somewhat how petrol was rationed when the fuel strikes were on. But frankly I'd be dubious of a government body created to do that and in the final analysis I suspect that like a proper fleet of snow plows its just too much bother for something that doesnt happen all that often.
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