The UK government has begun organising charter flights from Oman as conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt air travel, leaving large numbers of British nationals stuck in Gulf states and raising immediate questions for employers about pay, leave and remote working arrangements.
Ministers had said the first chartered repatriation flight would depart Muscat on Wednesday evening, with additional capacity being explored alongside airlines and Gulf authorities. But by Thursday morning, the flight had still not taken off, with passengers describing the situation as a “total shambles”.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has urged British nationals in the region to register their presence for updates, and the United Arab Emirates is a major focus due to the number of Britons based there.
Where workers are stranded
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are common hubs for UK business travel, and the United Arab Emirates is also home to large expatriate communities, which means many UK organisations have staff, contractors or secondees affected by the disruption. The government said it was considering “all options” to support Britons as some flights began to resume on a limited basis, after several days of widespread cancellations and airspace restrictions.
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“We are exploring all options for helping our citizens return home as swiftly and safely as possible,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told parliament earlier this week. “Ministers are also engaging directly with airlines,” he said.
Airlines have restarted some services, but schedules remain unstable. Virgin Atlantic said it had resumed flights between London Heathrow and Dubai and Riyadh, while other carriers continued to pause or heavily limit operations depending on route and airspace access.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority advised passengers caught up in the disruption to check Foreign Office travel advice and contact their airline about support and assistance where they were unable to travel home.
The scale of disruption creates a practical test of business continuity plans for employers, particularly where payroll, customer delivery or frontline services rely on workers who are temporarily outside the UK.
Pay questions when travel disruption prevents return
Employment lawyers said the first question for organisations was whether a stranded employee could continue working.
Emma Gross, an employment law partner at Spencer West, a UK law firm, said employers should start by assessing whether the employee could work remotely and was ready and willing to do so. “If the employee can carry out their duties from abroad and is ready and willing to work, they should ordinarily continue to receive their normal pay,” she told HRreview.
“An employee who is prepared to work but prevented from physically returning due to circumstances outside their control will generally remain entitled to pay, subject to the terms of their contract,” she said.
If the employee cannot work, Gross said organisations should be cautious about stopping pay without a clear contractual basis. “Any unilateral decision to suspend pay could expose the employer to claims for unlawful deduction from wages or breach of contract,” she said.
In practice, employers may find that the right answer differs by role and location. Some staff may be able to work as normal from hotels or temporary accommodation, while others may face connectivity issues, time zone constraints, security concerns or client confidentiality restrictions.
Leave options and consistency across teams
Where staff are unable to work, the immediate HR task is to agree a route that is lawful and consistent.
Gross said employers could consider paid leave, annual leave with appropriate notice, or unpaid leave by mutual agreement, depending on the contract and workplace policies.
Employers should therefore consider practical and lawful alternatives, such as agreeing a temporary period of paid leave, requiring or permitting the employee to take annual leave, agreeing unpaid leave by mutual consent, or considering whether any other form of leave under company policy may apply, she said.
People teams may also need to think beyond the individual case. When disruption affects multiple employees in the same region, inconsistencies in pay and leave decisions can quickly become a workplace relations issue, particularly where some employees travelled for business and others for personal reasons.
Even when the travel was personal, rigid approaches can carry reputational and retention risks. Employers may also need to consider whether absence management triggers, performance targets and disciplinary processes remain appropriate in situations where staff have limited control over their return.
Duty of care for business travel
Organisations that sent staff to the region for work may face additional responsibilities. Gross said employers owed a duty of care to employees on business travel, which could include maintaining contact, monitoring official travel advice, supporting evacuation planning where appropriate and checking insurance coverage. She said this was particularly relevant for higher-risk destinations, where employers may need to demonstrate they took reasonable steps to safeguard employee welfare.
In many firms, this will involve coordination across HR, security, legal and travel management providers, particularly where staff are spread across multiple countries or were travelling through transit hubs such as Dubai.
Employers may also face knock-on issues if employees remain outside the UK for an extended period.
Longer stays abroad can raise immigration and tax questions, depending on the jurisdiction and the employee’s status. There may also be data protection and confidentiality concerns where staff access sensitive systems from unfamiliar environments, or where working conditions make it difficult to maintain privacy.
Experts say the immediate priority for HR and payroll teams is usually to establish who is impacted, whether they can work, what support is needed and how decisions will be documented. Employers with frequent business travel to the Gulf may also choose to review travel authorisation procedures and emergency response plans, particularly for roles that require in-person presence.
As repatriation options remain limited and commercial services restart gradually, organisations may need to manage a mix of remote working, temporary leave arrangements and ongoing employee welfare support until staff are able to return safely.
