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Employers have been urged to be consistent in their approach to managing employees affected by the travel disruption caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

With as many as 150,000 UK workers currently stranded overseas, employers are making decisions as to whether to allow line managers to use their discretion in granting special leave, or whether to require staff to take annual leave, advised Rebecca Clake, research manager at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.   

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, but employers must take care to be consistent in the way they make the necessary decisions - guided by existing policies where relevant," she said.

It will be important for managers to be understanding and sympathetic in the way they deal with employees who may be struggling with travel, accommodation and domestic arrangements in these unforeseen circumstances, according to Clake.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) said the disruption once again highlights the need for business continuity planning, following issues caused by sever weather and terrorist attacks in recent years.

"We have long argued that companies should look at how they can make more use of video or telephone conferencing," an IoD spokesman told Personnel Today. "By having flexible options to hand, firms are better positioned to deal with the unexpected. It's not as if major disruptions to working routines are unusual and that, therefore, the investment would be a waste."

(Source: www.personneltoday.com)