In the event of flooding

The Report: June / July 2007 vol.28 num.3

I work at a hospital that is subject to flooding if the river risestoo high. My manager has told me that in the event of a flood, I may berelocated for my job. Can my employer do that?

The River Forecast Centre of British Columbia has predicted thatspring runoff could be higher than normal this year, and that there ispotential for flooding in some communities. Health authorities, amongothers organizations, are putting disaster management plans in place tobe ready in the event that health delivery services are affected.

Your employer has an obligation to deliver services to the community, and in an emergency the demands will increase. If your facility is evacuated, patients will need to be relocated, and staff will have to be redeployed to ensure patients are receiving the care they require.

In the event of an emergency, your employer has the right to reassign you to a different location, cancel your vacation, change your hours, and even reassign you to a different job, provided you are qualified and physically able to do that job.

If you are assigned to a job at a lower pay scale than your regular job, you will maintain your regular rate of pay.

The road between my home and my facility is subject to closure because of flooding. What if I cant get to work?

If you live in an area that may be affected by flooding, you shouldbe making necessary arrangements now to be able to get to work in anemergency.

During a natural disaster, health care workers are critical to emergency services. Demand for services increases, and employers need to have the staff in place to deliver the services. If you are having trouble making arrangements, contact your manager.

If access to work is a potential problem, you should be making plans now for alternate routes to work, or to find a place closer to work where you can stay in an emergency.

If you do relocate during an emergency, you must ensure your employer has your contact information.