Households up and down the UK have woken up to snow and ice this morning after Met Office warnings of 43-hour snowstorms came true.
But between struggling to get your car off your driveway, cancelled trains and closed schools and nurseries, many workers won’t enjoy the magic of a snow day and will instead worry about not being able to get to work or worse, not being paid if they can’t get in.
England, Scotland and Wales have all seen snow in the past day with many in cities like Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester waking up to a blanket of snow.
And the Met Office has issued another yellow weather warning for snow and ice for the UK on Wednesday, including more locations like Northern Ireland and Norwich.
But is it legal for your employer to fail to pay you, or not allow you time off, when it’s snowing or snowed and you can’t get into work?
According to legal experts, you are obligated to come to work even in snow if your workplace demands it – unless children are involved.
Your employer does not legally have to pay you if you fail to come in due to snow, unless the reason for your time off is due to childcare issues (e.g. a closed school).
Legal firm WBW says in advise to firms: “Employees are obliged to attend the office unless they are sick, on holiday or on maternity leave etc.
“Employees are therefore legally obliged to attend work, even in extreme weather conditions.
“This means that you are under no obligation to pay employees who cannot get to work due to the weather.
“The one exception to this is an employee’s right to time off for dependents. If an employee is unable to work due to school closures / childcare commitments then they will have a right to unpaid time off to provide emergency care.”
It then advises firms that employers should offer workers the chance to take unpaid leave, or use up a holiday day, or make up the time at a later date and still get paid.
Naturally, the company can still pay you as a ‘gesture of goodwill’, but is not contractually obliged to do so.
WBW adds: “You can require employees to take unpaid leave or elect to give the employee the option of: (1) using their holiday on these days or (2) making the time up at a later date, so that they still get paid. Any agreement should be documented such as in an email. Homeworking could also be an option.
“Of course, you could also choose to pay the employees as normal as a gesture of goodwill.”
So if you miss work today, you’re relying on your boss’ good grace unless you have children who can’t go to school or nursery.