Snow and ice and workplace rights

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jan/21/snow-ice-workplace-rights-weather

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Whether your train has been cancelled or your child's school closed, we look at where you stand with your employer. Maeve Vickery and Verity Goodby are employment law experts from Pardoes and Pardoes Bevins Human Resources respectively.

My child's school is closed – can I take a day off work?

If an employee is looking after their children due to an unexpected disruption in their normal care arrangements, they have a statutory right to (unpaid) reasonable time off to make arrangements for their dependents in an emergency – and closure of a nursery or school would qualify as an emergency. However, this is not time off to look after the child/children; it is time off to make alternative arrangements for their care.

What is reasonable in these circumstances depends on the alternative options the employee has available to them and how quickly they can be put in place – it therefore may range from half a day up to three days (or more), and it is likely adverse weather will also impact on the alternative options.

If you're an employer, flexibility is advisable in these circumstances, including considering options for homeworking or alternative working hours if that assists with securing alternative care arrangements during the period of adverse weather.

Does my employer have to pay me if I can't get into work?

Even in very poor weather conditions, the onus is on employees to get to work – unless the employer has a contractual obligation to provide transport for employees to and from the place of work.

Many employers now have an adverse weather policy (or sometimes related contractual clauses) which clarify whether payment will be made or not if an employee is unable to attend work in these circumstances. These are useful, for example, for informing employees about what is expected of them, the efforts they are expected to make to attend work, reporting their absence, and what they can expect from the employer.

If your contract has no clause and you fail to turn up your employer has no obligation to pay you.

Some employers may consider allowing employees to request that the time off due to adverse weather be paid as annual leave, or agree an arrangement for the employee to make the lost hours up within a reasonable timescale.

If my employer closes for the day does it have to pay me?

If you are able to work from home and do so you must be paid your normal wages.

If you are not able to work due to your employer's decision to close the business temporarily, this will in effect be a period of lay-off. The employer should pay employees their normal wages during this period, unless there is a provision in their contract which allows for unpaid lay-off, or if the employees agree to being laid off without pay.

Even where the contract allows for a period of unpaid lay-off, employees may still be entitled to a statutory guarantee payment up to a maximum of £23.50 for any day work is not available. More information is available from the government website.

To be eligible for a guarantee payment you must have at least one month's continuous service and be available on standby if the employer reasonably requests you to be. If an employee unreasonably refuses an offer of suitable alternative employment for a day when the business is closed, there is no obligation on an employer to pay them.

If I slip on snow or ice at work, is my employer liable?

Employers are responsible for making sure the workplace is safe so far as is reasonably practicable, and therefore must take action to reduce (and remove where possible) any risks to safety caused by snow and ice. For example, by gritting, clearing snow and temporarily closing off dangerous routes, such as areas which are accessed by external stairs or ladders.

If an employee brings a personal injury claim against their employer as a result of a slip or trip on snow or ice at work, the court will consider the circumstances in which the incident occurred and the steps the employer took to avoid the risk of injury.

Is there a minimum workplace temperature that should be met?

A minimum workplace temperature is not stated in legislation; Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 refers to the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings being reasonable during working hours.

Whether a temperature is reasonable or not will depend on factors like the nature of the workplace (for example, is it fully enclosed or are exterior doorways open all the time for work purposes; is it a refrigerated environment, and so on), and the type of work being carried out.

The Health and Safety Executive provides further guidance and recommends a minimum temperature of 16C for workplaces where the nature of the work is fairly inactive/deskbound, such as offices. For workplaces where the majority of the work requires physical effort, the minimum recommended temperature is 13°C.

• <em>A version of this article originally appeared on </em><em>Pardoes website</em>