Employers are being encouraged to be flexible with regard to the major global IT outage affecting thousands of businesses today (19 July).
The IT outage is thought to have been related to a flawed software update at cybersecurity giant Crowdstrike, which has then affected thousands of its customers.
Flights have been grounded, a number of major retailers have been hit, and the majority of GP surgeries in England are experiencing technical issues, according to the NHS.
In a statement, Crowdstrike said: “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.” However, many businesses are still struggling to get back on track.
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Law and advisory firm Peninsula has advised there are a number of ways employers impacted by the outage can minimise staff disruption.
“Given the interruption to some train services, employees may be struggling to get into work today,” said Nicole Whittaker, associate director of HR consulting.
“While employers could technically take disciplinary action around lateness, given that today’s situation is out of everyone’s hands, employers may want to factor this in and be more lenient. It is a situation that could not have been predicted so employees could not have prepared or made alternative arrangements.”
It may be the case that employees were due to be flying back from a holiday but will now miss their next shift, which could cause operational difficulties.
“Not only is this an unwelcome jolt back to reality for the employee after a week or two of sun, sea, and relaxation, but it may cause headaches for employers trying to find last minute cover,” she added.
“Employers could look to see if any employees impacted have any annual leave left and let them take this, even though it is last minute, to cover their absence.
“Depending on how long the disruption lasts and how long it takes them to get home, consider whether they can make the time up or take it as unpaid. Communication is key here, discuss the options with the employee to see what works best for both parties.”
For some employers, the outage may mean staff cannot access their usual systems and are unable to complete the tasks they had planned.
“If the IT outage prevents your business from operating as normal, then consider all options. Is there any other work that employees can do? If not, then could they take banked time-off in lieu or last-minute annual leave to avoid losing a day’s pay? If that’s not an option, employers may need to look to the contract of employment to see if there is a lay-off clause,” Whittaker suggested.
However, she added that if there isn’t the contractual right to place them on lay-off, then employers will need to get the employees’ agreement to it.
The outage could also potentially be causing payroll headaches. If this is the case, communication is key, Peninsula advised.
“Let the workforce know what is happening so that they remain fully informed. Employers could also consider if there is anything that they can do to help employees out if it is going to cause an employee particular hardship by not getting paid when they expect to,” said Whittaker.
“Above all, be considerate and remember that this disruption is something nobody could have predicted.”
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