Employers advised to treat workers fairly during severe weather

Derek Mackay

Following the ‘beast from the east’ snow storm earlier this year, the Fair Work Charter for Severe Weather provides guiding principles to help employers prepare for similar circumstances in the future.

Developed jointly by the Scottish government and the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), it sets out fair work practices - including the recommendation that all employers have a severe weather policy.

Economy and Fair Work Secretary Derek Mackay said: “During the extreme weather last winter, most employers made sensible and responsible decisions regarding their workers. While many businesses faced challenges, we were encouraged by the flexibility provided to staff.

“However, not all employers had severe weather policies to ensure workers understood what is expected. This is why we have developed this charter, because fair work is good for workers, good for employers and good for Scotland.

“We look forward to continuing our dialogue with employer organisations to get the Severe Weather Charter into every workplace in Scotland. It offers a sensible and responsible approach to balancing the safety of workers with service delivery when the weather strikes hard.”

Grahame Smith, general secretary of the STUC, said: “Our extreme weather survey revealed major concerns in many sectors. We were heartened by the efforts of workers to keep essential services operating, but also how they organised together within their unions to expose bad practice, including forcing workers to travel in dangerous conditions and denying pay to those who were unable to get into work.

“We are glad these guidelines encourage employers to engage with workers to develop clear, pro-active policies and procedures for future periods of extreme weather. We urge all employers to recognise trade unions and give adequate facility time to Health & Safety Reps. Our survey clearly showed that trade union membership and collective bargaining is an important factor in determining how satisfied workers are with employer behavior in difficult conditions.”