As the temperatures continue to drop and the ‘beast from the east’ 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.

“Whilst companies are not legally obliged to pay employees if they can’t 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.

“Whilst the east coast is more likely to be worse affected, we cannot take it for granted that we won’t get snow and icy conditions here on the west coast. We would therefore encourage employers to keep up-to-date with Met Eireann’s weather warnings and to start putting contingency plans in place for all scenarios.

“They 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.

“Most 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.” Ms Downes added.