CALLS are being made for East Lothian Council to rethink its severe weather policy after a barrage of criticism from unions and politicians.

The local authority's revised policy suggests staff who live in rural areas could set aside a portion of their annual holiday entitlement in case bad weather strikes and they cannot make it to work.

The policy -  reviewed after last year's Beast from the East saw the council criticised for docking workers' wages after they were unable to get to work during days when police had issued warnings not to travel - was approved by the council's cabinet on Tuesday.

It continues to advise workers that they will have wages docked if they are unable to attend work, unless the council itself shuts offices or sends them home. To avoid this scenario, workers could instead take paid holidays.

North Berwick Coastal Ward Councillor Jeremy Findlay, who attended the meeting, told cabinet members he had a "moral problem" with penalising employees who lived in the country.

Following their decision this week, Mr Findlay said: "This is deeply unfair to those who live in rural communities and are more likely to be most affected by severe weather.

“If they are told by police and government not to travel and it is unsafe for them to do so, their pay should not be docked nor their holiday allowance reduced.I would strongly urge the council to re-evaluate their position on this matter.”

Both Unite and the STUC condemned the policy.

STUC general secretary Grahame Smith accused the council of "incentivising" workers to travel when it was not safe.

Council chief executive Angela Leitch said each council service had an additional business continuity plan which employees should become familiar with which outlines actions in more detail.

She said: “The updated policy contains additional advice for staff on what to do in such unusual circumstances.

“This includes working remotely or being deployed near to where they live as an alternative."

Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, called on council leader Councillor Willie Innes to meet with her to discuss a “sensible resolution”.

Mrs Ballantyne said: “Although I understand the need to ensure that severe weather policies can’t be misused by staff, East Lothian Council’s current policy does little to take into account the safety of employees.

“It essentially forces staff to choose between their annual leave and facing dangerous weather conditions. Some people need to use their annual leave to cover childcare during holiday periods so doing this simply may not be an option for them."

SNP MSP Emma Harper, South of Scotland, called the policy "Dickensian".

However the local authority, which employs 4,484 people, insists it has no intention of changing its policy.

A spokesperson said: “The severe weather early in 2018 greatly impacted on the services delivered by the council, its employees and businesses. Taking this into account, the council proposed a clearer, revised policy to plan for and manage the impact of severe weather and other events.

"As part of the process the proposed revised policy was open to consultation by employees and was discussed at meetings of the JCC (Joint Consultative Committee) which includes representatives from the unions.

"The revised policy was then presented to councillors at the cabinet meeting in January when it was formally approved. The new policy follows much of the guiding principles of the ‘Fair Work Charter’ developed jointly by the Scottish Government and the STUC and there are no current plans for further amendments.”