Employers must be flexible with staff during severe weather, according to CIPD

Maany employers will be affected by the weather, with many job roles not able to be fulfilled through home working and other employees left with extra childcare responsibilities as schools close down because of the snow. In these cases difficult decisions on how to manage employees who have not been able to make it into work will have to be made.

Rebecca Clake, organisation and resourcing adviser at the CIPD, said: "Employers need to carefully consider opportunities and options available if the weather conditions do stop employees making it in. Many companies that have put in place the technology and management practices to allow home working, reap the benefits at a time like this.

"The crude millions-of-pounds estimates of the cost to the economy of bad weather often don't take into account the millions of motivated workers who will be remotely working or if access to emails is not possible using the time to focus on planning or to reflecting on work processes and practices.

"Of course, many types of work simply cannot be done from home, and some employers may struggle to operate their business. These employers will be working hard to get those staff who have made it in to operate the business as best they can, even if that means turning their hands to tasks not normally part of their day jobs.

"Employees can reasonably be expected to do their best to get into work on foot, or where travel is less badly affected. Where employees are genuinely unable to get in, and this can be demonstrated to the employer, decisions will have to be taken as to whether to allow line managers to use their discretion in granting special leave, whether to require employees to take annual leave, or whether to shut down operations altogether. There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, but employers must take care to be consistent in the way that they make the necessary decisions - guided by existing policies where relevant."

But Clake added: "Overall, much of this comes down to common sense. Employees should have the sense to try to get in without taking unnecessary risks. But also to speak to their employers if they are unable to get in, and not just treat the snow as automatic permission to take an unannounced holiday. Equally, employers should make clear to employees that they should not risk life and limb to get to work, and be understanding if employees need to leave early to avoid getting stranded unnecessarily on their way home - particularly if conditions worsen during the working day. Where employees are required to drive for work, employers also have a health and safety duty to ensure drivers are allowed extra time to complete journeys and factor in alternative routes - and that they are not pressurised to complete any journeys made dangerously difficult by the weather."