Snow pay?? Please help

Ok peeps, thanks for reading.

I have looked on here and other sites but can't find the answer to my question.

My partners work closed because of the snow, all the staff that were there were sent home unpaid!!!

Can anyone please tell me is this correct or should they be paid as it was the companies decision to close.

Thank you all

This is more complex than it appears at face value. As a general rule, it you cannot get into work then you are not paid. In most cases, the employer will offer you the chance to take the day from Annual Leave or take it unpaid.

However, if your place of work is closed - whether you are in the building or not - then this is a short-term lay off by your employer and from here it depends what it says in your Contract of Employment.

If it does allow for unpaid short-term lay offs without pay then you would become entitled to a Statutory Guarantee Payment (up to £25 per day). If the contract does not allow for this, then you are entitled to full pay.

If they don't pay you, you are legally entitled to sue them for damages, or claim Constructive Dismissal (if you resign as a result) on grounds of breach of your Contract of Employment. You also claim that your employer made an unlawful deduction of wages. Your rights would be protected.

An employer can force someone into taking Annual Leave rather than paying you but they need to give sufficient notice. Again depends on the Contract of Employment but without a relevant clause then so long as they give twice as long as the leave required to take they can do so. In other words, they can force an employee to take a days leave but they must given two days notice.

Thanks for taking the time to write a full and helpful response!

Yes thank you for your time and effort, really appreciated

I suggest he takes it up with his union representative. If there isn't one I'd further suggest he contact one of the major unions such as Unite or GMB and investigate the possibility of unionising to prevent future abuses.