What to do when a flood prevents you from getting to work?

In recent days, water flooding into homes, destroying roads, and tearing down bridges has become a real threat affecting thousands of people. However, a flood impacts not only private life but also professional life. Many employees do not know that in a disaster situation the law is on their side. In a crisis situation such as a flood, both employers and employees should know their rights and obligations.

Does a flood justify absence from work?

As indicated in § 1 of the regulation by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy regarding the justification of absences from work and granting employees leave from work, causes justifying employee absences include events and circumstances specified by labour law provisions that make it impossible for an employee to report to work and perform it, as well as other cases of inability to perform work indicated by the employee and recognized by the employer as justifying absence from work. Therefore, if a flood prevents an employee from reaching work, the employer should recognize such absence as justified.
Furthermore, according to Article 8 of the Act on special solutions related to removing the effects of floods, the actual inability to perform work due to a flood constitutes grounds for justifying an employee’s absence from work, and for the duration of the justified absence, the employee is entitled to an appropriate part of the minimum wage determined by separate regulations, for a period not longer than 10 working days according to the employee’s work schedule. However, the employer may assign the employee to perform work of a different kind than specified in the employment contract if it is necessary due to flood damage removal at that employer. In such a case, the employee retains the right to their current remuneration, calculated according to the rules applicable when calculating pay for vacation leave.

Leave from work due to force majeure

Force majeure is a term taken by the legislator from the Civil Code referring to unpredictable and unavoidable events that prevent the performance of obligations. In the context of labour law, it means situations beyond the employee’s control that prevent them from attending work – these are inevitable situations independent of the employee and objectively unforeseeable.
According to Article 148¹ of the Labour Code, an employee is entitled to leave from work during the calendar year amounting to 2 days or 16 hours. The employer is obliged to grant this leave upon the employee’s request – they cannot refuse this leave. Importantly, during the period of leave due to force majeure, the employee retains the right to remuneration amounting to half of their pay.

Downtime

If the company is unable to operate due to flooding, the employee who was ready to perform work but could not do so due to reasons attributable to the employer, pursuant to Article 81 of the Labour Code, is entitled to downtime pay. If the downtime was due to the employee’s fault, remuneration is not payable.
 

Is remote work an alternative?

According to Article 67¹⁹ of the Labour Code, remote work can be performed on the employer’s order during a state of emergency, epidemic threat, or epidemic, and for 3 months after their repeal, or in a period when the employer cannot temporarily provide safe and hygienic working conditions at the employee’s current workplace due to force majeure, provided that the employee submits a statement in paper or electronic form directly before the order, confirming that they have the local and technical conditions to perform remote work. The employer may withdraw the order to perform remote work at any time with at least two days’ notice. Remote work allows continuing professional duties without the risk of losing remuneration and protects the employer’s interests.
 

Summary

Flooding can cause serious difficulties in both personal and professional life. However, the legislator has provided a range of solutions aimed at protecting employees in these difficult situations. Employers and employees should be aware of their rights and obligations to jointly face challenges related to natural disasters.
If you have any questions or doubts, we encourage you to contact our Law Firm. You can count on comprehensive service and full commitment at every stage of your case.