We got a note out from HR telling those of us, such as me, who can't fly back to client sites today to take any grounded days as unpaid or to use vacation days. Is this legal? Even if it is, its a pretty awful way to treat staff.Really rubs salt into the wound after the terrible way redundancies were handled, and the second year of no pay rises.

Completely illegal - in the UK at least. Make your way to your home office and declare yourself fit and present for work.Where home/remote working is well established as a working practice, even the travel to the office should be unnecessary.I'm afraid this is HR complaint time, with all the career ramifications that go with it. Either suck it up, or decide that you do not want to be bullied in this way....of course a more sneaky individual might leak this to the press and then have the firm publicly deny such disgraceful behaviour.But that would be my brother Mr Sneaky.

What a disgrace. Is any other consulting company doing this?

It's not that simple. The issue is whether the company or you should be responsible for the cost of this situation. Where staff can't return from holiday, it should be their responsibility. If they are returning from business trips, it should be the company's responsibility.

"who can't fly back to client sites today"not "who can't fly back from holiday"

If you're not working, due to a force of nature, why should Cap pay you unless they can charge you out?

Anon (from previous post):All I can say is that we all sprang from apes, but you didn't spring far enough!

In situations like this the best thing to do is apply the PA litmus test and find out what PA is doing. If PA is pursuing a similar policy then of course it's wrong! If not, then at least count your blessings that you ain't working for them...........simples!

CG manage primarily by utilisation and Paris give the sub offices an absolutely kicking if the targets drop so this is pretty much expected. this is also why they schedule training to begin/end on weekends and why if you are on the bench towards end of a financial period they will tell you to take holiday. there's not really much benefit being in a consulting firm like this over and above contracting. having said that, if you are stuck getting back from holiday then I can see why they'd say 'not our problem'

Holidays I can understand.Telling someone who's NOT on holiday to log unpaid days if he can't get onsite is unacceptable. As Mr Sneaky says, leak it to the Register.

That's a truly shocking way to treat staff, whether or not it's legal. It's also very short sighted as it will create massive ill-will from both current and future employees. I wouldn't go near a firm that treated its staff like that.Sure the flight ban is bad news for companies, but isn't that kind of risk one of the things covered when they charge us out at x times our salary?Leaking it to the media is a great idea.

See small business advice column column in today's City AM: According to this it is entirely legal to make someone take unpaid leave (i.e. not use up their holiday) if they are not able to make it to work. And why shouldn't the company do that? Why should the owners of the company take the hit for the volcano event? In today's society everyone wants someone else to take the hit in the name of "fairness". Travel companies should compensate travellers, and governments should compensate companies... In fact, governments should apparently always compensate everyone for everything (and it should get its money from the magical money tree that grows in the central courtyard of the BOE - its visible on google maps!). But there's a distinction to be made between an employee who can't make it to work because they're stuck at a holiday destination, and an employee who can't make it from their home office location to their client site - in which case the company owner should indeed take the hit.

Enjoying listening to the penny pinching consulting HR policies once again. I left a consulting firm that appears on here a lot a number of years ago to move into industry.I got stuck in the USA during the closure as was out there with work and due to fly back last Friday. All expenses covered by the company and as there was a number of us out there they chartered a corporate jet to bring us back to the UK as soon as airspace opened.I do wonder why people continue to accept rubbish pay and conditions in the consulting sector.

...because it gives consultants a chance to exercise their egos, give the appearance of being cleverer than their clients and spout bull at dinner parties.

No company can force its permanent employees to take unpaid leave simply because they can't get to their client site. That's rubbish. It's like forcing employees to take unpaid leave when on the bench. Surely the only way this can actually be legal is if your contract states that you receive a salary of zero and earnings purely based on commission from chargeable work. Am I missing something here? My employment contract entitles me to a salary, until I am no longer employed by my company, I will continue to be paid that salary. I could be voluntarily weaving mud-huts from banana-skins in Micronesia and my contract would still apply. It's got nothing to do with passing the buck, it's basic employment contract stuff.

Actually the law says you are not entitled to be paid if you do not come to work for whatever reason.Not sure if that means client site but certainly your home office. There is no legal obligation to pay absentees.

which is why the SECOND post suggest you make your way to your home office.The point is that if you make yourself available to work you should be paid.