TUC calls on employers to show ‘common sense and understanding’ as extreme weather hits UK

Storm Goretti has brought extreme weather to the UK with the Met Office issuing a ‘red warning’ for parts of the country. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on employers not to force staff to take excessive risks by making dangerous journeys to work.

The TUC says employers must show understanding and not punish workers who cannot travel to work safely. For example, by withholding pay or making them use their holiday.

Bad weather policies

The TUC suggests that all employers have clear weather policies to set out what staff should do when snow and ice, or a lack of public transport, prevents them from getting to work. These should also cover what parents can do if schools close and they have no alternative childcare.

Also, when snow causes problems on the UK’s transport network, it makes sense for employers to encourage and enable staff who can do so to work from home. That’s better than struggling with a lengthy, risky and difficult commute to and from work.

Minimum temperature

The TUC is also reminding employers to keep their workplaces safe during the cold weather.

Official health and safety law says the temperature should normally be at least 16C . Or 13C if much of the work indoors involves severe physical effort. And bosses should also ensure entrances to workplaces are gritted and not slippery.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

This will be a stressful time for many people – especially with forecasters sounding the alarm.

Employers must show basic common sense and understanding.

No one should be pressured into making dangerous journeys. And workers shouldn’t be punished with lost pay or forced to take holiday because the weather makes travel impossible.

Good bosses will already have bad weather policies in place so staff know where they stand. They will also recognise that when schools are closed some parents will not be able to work as they have to care for their children.

Featured image via the Canary