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Managing staff stranded abroad

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Stranded abroad: flights starting but chaos remains

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30 November 1999

Stranded businessman watches plane take off
Stranded abroad: flights starting but chaos remains

THE CLAMPDOWN on flights might have been lifted today (21 April), but the impact of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud is likely to be long and difficult.

Some reports put the unravelling of stranded passengers and airplanes as being two weeks.

Airline carrier BA said in a statement: “We hope to reach a position soon where we can begin repatriating customers in large numbers, and we are planning to operate a number of inbound longhaul flights today, subject to airspace restrictions.”

But what does your small business do in the meantime if your staff are stranded abroad?

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) advises smaller employers to be flexible with stranded staff – but know when to draw the line on unpaid leave.

The FPB says small businesses, struggling in the wake of the worst recession in a generation, should be aware of the impact on cash flow of a productivity drop because of employee absence.

It advises that, unless remote working is an option, businesses could offer staff discretionary paid leave for a fixed period. However, there is no compulsion to do so and this should be followed by an offer of unpaid leave or suggesting that absent workers take additional holidays covering the period they are away, says the FPB.

“The key thing is to keep in touch so you have the fullest information possible about your employees and their travel situation,” said the Forum’s employment adviser Ross Meadows from Mace and Jones Solicitors. “Obviously it’s not their fault that they are unable to make it to work so it’s down to an employer’s discretion whether or not to offer paid leave, at least up to a point.

“But, after a certain time, it is advisable that this becomes unpaid leave unless the staff member wants to take extra holidays.

“Hopefully more airports will open shortly and, despite the inevitable backlog, the situation should improve soon and employers will get their people back.”

There are other options available for businesses in order to address the problem utilising online technology.

Chris Sinclair, a director of computer software firm 3Si Ltd, which is based in Newcastle Under Lyme in Staffordshire, has an employee stuck in the US.

“She is stuck out there with her family,” said Mr Sinclair. “We’ve now spoken to her – it’s going to be a fortnight before she gets back and she’s already been on holiday for two weeks,” he said.

“But she has the ability to connect to the internet, log into the office and work from home in the US – only for half a day because of the time difference. What she does for the rest of the day is entirely up to her.

“It’s really important to be flexible. Our employee doesn’t want to lose more holidays or pay and we’ve been able to lessen any impact by using the technology at our disposal to set up a transient office.”

Further information

The government’s advice line for stranded travellers is at the DirectGov website.

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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