As the temperatures continue to drop and the âbeast from the eastâ makes its way towards Ireland, Shannon Chamber is encouraging its member companies to plan for any impact the forecasted severe weather conditions will have on their businesses.
âWhilst companies are not legally obliged to pay employees if they canât get to work, we would suggest that employers be flexible and have arrangements in place if staff have to travel a distance to and from work and the road conditions worsen.
âWhilst the east coast is more likely to be worse affected, we cannot take it for granted that we wonât get snow and icy conditions here on the west coast. We would therefore encourage employers to keep up-to-date with Met Eireannâs weather warnings and to start putting contingency plans in place for all scenarios.
âThey should ensure that they have contact information for all employees should they be forced to close at the last minute. Companies that operate 24/7 shifts should also have arrangements in place to keep their business operating.
âMost companies now make provision for the safety and well-being of their staff and this will become evident should we be faced with an emergency in the coming days. Shannon Chamber, for its part, will link with its members to keep abreast of arrangements and we would encourage our members to maintain a two-way flow of information to us with all updates to enable us push the information out on our social media channels.â Ms Downes added.