An employment lawyer has urged employers to act reasonably when workers are stuck in holiday travel chaos.

The first week of the school holidays has seen lengthy queues at the Port of Dover, with the chaos at the ferry port mirrored by delays at international airports, and there are worries about what will happen to staff unable to return to work on the planned date due to travel problems.

Joanne Stronach, head of employment law at Cartmell Shepherd which has a base in Brampton, urged employers to ‘act reasonably’ to ensure employers are treated fairly for problems that aren’t their fault.

She said employers could take disciplinary action if an employee does not turn up for work – but would recommend against this step unless the delay is not genuine or the employee has not contacted the employer to explain what is happening, so just does not turn up.

Joanne added: “It’s best to adopt a reasonable stance as you don’t want to face an employee resigning and claiming constructive unfair dismissal case or raising a grievance against you.

“Do you really want to lose good staff members at a time when it is increasingly difficult to recruit, and with the additional cost of recruiting a replacement?”

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