The recent civil unrest across the UK has prompted lots of questions from employers as to how to protect their businesses in the event of riots or protests. Here radar’s legal experts answer the most pressing questions.

How can we protect our premises from riots?
To keep your buildings and premises safe from rioters, you may:

• Confirm your security systems, such as CCTV and shutters, are working properly.
• Put extra security in place, such as temporary guards.
• Remove valuable items from window displays.
• Ensure all exterior parts of the premises are well lit.
• Move non-essential vehicles off site.
• Adjust your opening hours – for example, if disruption is expected in the afternoon, you may close early.
• Keep interior areas locked as much as possible – for example, keep office doors with valuable items in locked when not in use.

To reduce the risk of arson, we recommend that you remove combustible materials outside your premises, such as recycling materials.

If you move dumpsters and parked vehicles away from walls, this will make it harder for someone to use them to try and gain access to higher levels.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that you have recent pictures of your buildings and site in case they are damaged. You may need this evidence if you make an insurance claim.

How can we keep employees physically safe?
To keep your employees physically safe, you may:

• Carry out a risk assessment to determine what risks are applicable to them and what control measures may reduce those risks
• Allow flexible working – employees may be able to work from home
• Help employees avoid disturbances by:
  o Adjusting their working hours;
  o Providing work transport or encouraging carpooling so employees don’t have to use public transport.

You should also check your fire/emergency evacuation procedures are up to date and in full working order in case they are needed. You might even carry out a test of these procedures to make sure everyone understands what to do in an emergency. Where there isn’t time to do a full test, reminding employees of their roles and responsibilities will still be helpful.

Some employees will need extra help exiting the premises, such as employees with disabilities and pregnant employees. You may need to put in place personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) or update existing plans.

How can we support employees’ mental health?
Employees may be physically safe from riots and protests, but still be anxious about them. Employees may have also unfortunately been mentally or emotionally harmed by civil disturbances.

It’s important that you take employees’ mental health as seriously as their physical health. Therefore, you might support employees by giving them access to an employee assistance programme or mental health first aiders.

Please note that this support may need to be provided on an ongoing basis.

What if an employee can’t work?
An employee may not be able to travel to work during periods of civil unrest for several reasons. They may be feeling too nervous to travel, or their usual route to work may be disrupted. If so, your options include:

• Allowing the employee to work from home or another location (see question below for more information on this).
• Adjusting their working hours.
• Letting the employee use their annual leave, but you cannot insist on this.

An employee may not be able to work because they have been physically injured. If so, this should be treated as a sickness absence under your company sickness absence procedure.

If an employee is too anxious to work, it may also be appropriate for them to take time off under your sickness absence procedure.

What if we can’t open? And what would be the impact on pay?
If your business cannot operate, or you choose to close your business, and employees are willing and able to work, employees must be paid their full wage.

If your business reopens after damage on reduced hours, you may be able to consider lay-offs and short-time working. However, you can only implement this if the employment contract allows.

If your business is likely to experience long-term issues, redundancy may be an option.
You can suggest employees use their holiday days when you can’t operate, but you can’t force them to.

What if one location can’t open?
If your business operates across multiple sites and one location cannot open, you can ask employees to work from another location. However, you can only do this if there is a mobility clause in their employment contract.

If you decide to enforce a mobility clause, the alternative location must be within a reasonable distance – for example, it is reasonable to ask an employee to work at another location 5 miles away, but not 100 miles away.

If there is no mobility clause in the employment contract, you might try and vary the employee’s terms and conditions, so it includes one. However, the employee does not have to agree with this.

If there is a mobility clause and the employee refuses a reasonable request to work from another site, you may need to consider dismissal or redundancy. Either approach runs the risks of a claim at an employment tribunal, so we recommend you get legal advice.

What if an employee takes part in a riot?
If an employee takes part in a riot this may bring your organisation into disrepute.

Your company disciplinary policy may state such actions count as misconduct, which merits disciplinary action. For an employee to be sanctioned, the disciplinary investigation needs to show their behaviour outside of working hours and/or off-site had a negative impact on the business.

If an employee takes part in a riot, we do not recommend instant dismissal. This is the case even if they are arrested or subject to criminal investigation. Instead, an investigation under the company disciplinary procedure should be carried out to establish the facts of the situation. Suspension pending the outcome of the investigation may be an option. Possible outcomes of this investigation may be:

• Dismissal for gross misconduct (where the disciplinary policy states that bringing the company into disrepute counts as gross misconduct.
• Dismissal for some other substantial reason (SOSR).

If you do not follow the correct procedure before dismissing an employee, you could face a claim at an employment tribunal.

What if an employee asks for time off to attend a protest?
If an employee asks for time off to attend an organised protest, this request should be submitted in line with your normal holiday procedures. You can then approve or not approve the request in line with that procedure – for example, you may not approve the request because you don’t have enough staff to cover the shift.

If an annual leave request is not approved and the employee does not turn up for work, this counts as an unauthorised absence (AWOL) and is subject to disciplinary action.

What if an employee posts something horrible on social media?
Employees may use social media to voice their support for civil disturbances, or to post political views in response to riots. Your social media policy should set out your expectations of employees’ behaviour online. Your social media policy should be linked to your company disciplinary policy – for example, posting racially motivated, insults and hate crimes should be investigated under the disciplinary procedure and may result in dismissal for gross misconduct or SOSR.

An employee may post something so hateful that you consider dismissing the employee. Again, a fair process must be followed. In addition, you will need to consider the following about the employee’s online behaviour:

• Is the activity directly linked to company?
• If the activity is not linked to the company, does it bring the company into disrepute?
• Is the activity serious enough to merit dismissal?

Remember:

• A single incident may be enough to merit dismissal – for example, if an employee is racially abusive towards another in a post.
• There is no time limit on posts – offensive material posted online may come to light later down the line.

What if an employee claims protesting is a philosophical belief?
Employees may argue that protest is an expression of philosophical belief and, therefore, must be respected. Refusal to do so would be incompatible with dignity or conflict with fundamental rights of others.

However, civil disturbances often include illegal activity, such as rioting and hate speech, so it would be extremely difficult for employees to argue that their participation in civil disturbances merit protection for philosophical belief. Therefore, employers can reasonably reject such arguments.

The rradar legal advisory team can help manage tricky issues around riots and other forms of civil disturbance.