The succession of storms that crosses mainland Portugal has once again placed a practical issue at the center of daily work: anyone who is unable to get to work due to extreme bad weather loses their right to a salary. Labor legislation provides responses to these scenarios and, in certain circumstances, protects the worker, even if the legal basis only emerges later.
According to the Lusa agency, the Labor Code considers absences motivated by situations that do not depend on the worker’s will to be justified.
This is what article 249 establishes, which includes exceptional events, such as natural phenomena, when these make it impossible to travel to the workplace.
The importance of justifying absence
Article 253 of the Labor Code establishes that the worker must communicate the absence to the employer and provide proof of the reason cited, whenever this is required. In the case of extreme meteorological phenomena, this evidence can take various forms, from statements by local authorities to communications from civil protection, official warnings from public entities or records proving the closure of roads and the suspension of transport.
When the absence is considered justified under the law, article 255 determines that there can be no loss of any worker’s rights, including remuneration, except in the cases expressly provided for. As impediments caused by adverse weather conditions are not attributable to the worker, absence should not result in a salary penalty.
Successive storms worsen constraints
This legal framework gains special relevance at a time when the country is facing the effects of the Kristin depression, which followed storms Ingrid and Joseph.
The worsening of weather conditions resulted in intense rain, strong winds, snowfall in several inland areas and strong sea agitation, leading to the issuance of multiple weather warnings and severe restrictions on mobility.
The consequences extended to several essential sectors. Electricity supply was affected on a large scale, with significant damage to the distribution network. The intervention of technical teams on the ground was hampered by the weather conditions, delaying the restoration of service in several regions.
Occurrences multiply in several regions
At the same time, there were hundreds of incidents related to falling trees, damaged structures and blocked roads.
In some locations, authorities even recommended that the population avoid leaving their homes, limiting travel to what is strictly necessary, given the lack of safety conditions.
The impact of the bad weather also had a tragic dimension, with the confirmation of a fatality following the fall of a tree on a light vehicle, in an episode that illustrates the seriousness of the situation experienced in some areas of the country.
In the most recent assessment, according to , the incidents were mainly concentrated in the Lisbon district, the Setúbal Peninsula and the West region, with hundreds of interventions recorded during the early hours of the morning.
In a context of closed roads, power failures and increased risks, labor law ends up functioning as a protection network for those who, for reasons beyond their control, were unable to follow their usual route to work.
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