Storm days can be good or bad for Island workers

Storm days can be costly for some workers depending on their jobs.

People who work in private industrymay lose pay if they don't make it in.

Some employees may get the opportunity to make up for lost wages by working at home, or coming in on a usual day off.

But that isn't always the case.

"Those types of arrangements don't always work in every circumstance but it is something that a lot of business owners will try to accommodate both for their employees, who many of them rely on their paychecks, but also to make sure the business operations are running as smoothly as they can,"saidErinMcGrath-Gaudet, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on P.E.I.

McGrath-Gaudetsaid once it gets to a certain point andpeopleshouldn't be on the roads, larger retail operations or restaurants sometimes need to make that call to close.

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Other small businesses or workers may not have the ability to close during storms.

"If you're farmer that has animals that are in your care, or community care facility or nursing home where you have people in your care, you knowclosing down reallyisn't an option,"McGrath-Gaudetsaid.

Essential services

For government employees, the rules differ depending on which department they work in.

In P.E.I., members of the provincial civil service get paid if their offices close for the day.

But employees working for essential services are expected to make it in no matter the weather.

"Sometimes the employer will have employees come in early and spend the night before the storm, they will be there to relieve the staff that are already there and they can kind of relieve each other if the storm ends up being longer than predicted," said Karen Jackson, president of the union for public sector employees in P.E.I.

"It's difficult, it's really difficult."

Jackson said many health-care facilities on P.E.I. are outfitted to have employees sleep overnight to ensure adequate staffing and that workers can stay if it is unsafe for them to leave.

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