Considering the amount of safety that goes on with my company which makes even the easiest of task near imposable, due to risk assessment. They sent people out on to the snow covered roads and photographed condition to see if you could have driven your car into work.

They post notice saying take care going home but make every effort to get in.

Does your employer encourages safety and respects your decision not to drive because it’s dangerous.

If I don't rock up because of the weather, I have to take it as holiday or not get paid

Driving on the snow isn't that dangerous. At the end of the day, you're in a tin box and any crash should be well under 30mph if conditions are bad and you're sane.

Most of the people I've known not go into work on snow days have either not bothered trying at all, or have done daft things like taking the hilly back lane they take when it's not snowy…

go to work then you work shy ! !@*%!

I don't know i is me, you've gotta make the call each morning. Bear in mind if you have had a lot of time off it may well be held against you in the future months.

Like Kato – costs me a days holiday.

Don't turn up and you'll it'll be taking it as holiday or unpaid leave, turn up and get bonuses 😀 even though the weathers not been that bad around here.

I've covered around 3000 miles in the last two weeks in the lorry and not really had a problem. The shovel made an appearance once.

Some of the drivers out there really need to MTFU.

It's leave for us if you don't get in, but if you do get in you can have up to an hours flexi credit for extra travelling time as a thank you for making the effort, which I think is a decent gesture.

Part of my job involves travelling around Derbyshire visiting people at home – it's very pretty this time of year but I – fully supported by my employers – operate a strict "Don't drive beyond the point you feel you sphincter tighten" when it gets snowy and icy!

Driving on the snow isn't that dangerous. At the end of the day, you're in a tin box and any crash should be well under 30mph

It's a petty for the pedestrians and cyclists though isn't it…they are going to be a mess when they get hit at 30.
I've avoided driving as much as possible but in the little I've done I've had 2 different cars where the driver had their dose of 'MTFU' and were sliding sidewards towards me on the wrong side of the road…etc etc 4x4s rant etc etc…..

got an email saying please don't come if it is bad, try to work at home if you can. thank you to those who did come in.

i had one day i didn't make it, could have driven to work but the roads here were bad, other drivers absolutely terrible, and the roads where i park near work were terrible, ungritted and v. steep. one day work was shut (our grit got borrowed by highways agency!) and several early afternoons.

we do not have to make the time back up – i will be though as i don't really like to be in debt to them.

As an employer it has been a real ufck up – we try to be flexible and understanding but really get the feeling we are being taken for a ride at times. Can't wait for it to go so we can operate at a proper capacity

We've got a website to check in the morning that will tell you if work is open or not. If conditions are marginal then they'll cool with you not turning up, but a lot of staff can get plenty of work done from home anyway.

Avin a laarf intcha? Last week a colleague of mine tried to get off early cos the snow was getting pretty bad where he lives (Halifax). Gaffer says 'no', so Steve goes off at 5 like everyone else & has to abandon his car 4 miles from home. Next morning he gets in late (cos he's had to walk 4 miles with a shovel then drive for 45 mins) & gets a 'please explain' when he gets there! He had phoned in & explained the situation by the way.

That's the prison service for ya.
Then yesterday another member of staff went flat on his ar$e in the car park on black ice & had to be carted off in an ambulance & all management were worried about was the shortage of staff to unlock prisoners!

Despite the worst snow our area had seen for 30 years only 1 person out of 55 on our site didn't make it in every day. some from 30 miles away.

All this in the face of the local council/police/transport advising not travelling unless it was essential?

It took me about 10 minutes less.. that's "LESS" than usual on the worst day for my 15 mile journey!

The company has hired a Range Rover to pickup those who can't make it in. If you can't get in – they come for you! I got to travel to work in luxury yesterday when the trains were cancelled 8)

My sham of a boss decided to pay everyone 8 hours on snow days. Even the fat lazy peice of turd who lives 500mtrs away, who never showed. So I risk a crash , which might be my fault , loosing my NCB , car etc, or being hit by another car to get to work , and work the morning then struggle home and get paid the same as the no shows and its a 60 mile round trip.
So i effectively get fined for turning up.

<deleted in case my boss reads this>

The reality is that for every one person that genuinely can't get in (and who invariably spends a couple of hours standing frozen on a railway platform before heading back home) there are at least a dozen chancers who use any excuse for a day off.

A woman in my office told us "I can't get to work" for 2 days last week. She finally comes in on the friday and says "The roads are finally clear". "Clear?" I say. "Yes, they had almost a centimetre of snow on them yesterday!" This to her is impassable, she just decided she couldn't possibly drive until there was tarmac visible. I drove a car for the first time ever today, my first driving lesson, and I drove safely on more snow than that FFS.

Thing is, she's not taking the p*ss, she's just a cretin. I'd say that if the company wants to employ cretins, they should expect cretinousness, some positive, some negative 😉

It's a petty for the pedestrians and cyclists though isn't it…they are going to be a mess when they get hit at 30.

No not really at 30 the injuries aren't that bad.

well as an employer as well i face certain issues. If i dont turn up then i cant open the business up to customers or employees so i have no choice but to turn up. I have cycled though the 27 mile commute veryday and TBH it aint been that bad, probably safer than a car. I'm lucky that most of my employees live near by so i haven't had anyone phone in yet. They wouldn't be paid if they did though. I totally agree that people shouldn't be paidif they cant make it in. So many people use anything for excuses and this is quite a blatant excuse which would be easily feasible to attempt to get away with

Real Tropers the lot of you, i feel honoured to be on the same forum.

I was out working in the snow a few of the days – all my work is outdoors, so when it was -10 deg C I was having problems getting a few manholes up and abandoned them! And 1 job up a farm track that was under a couple of foot of snow got missed off too, will deal with that another time.

It was better weather than the rain, wind and grim coldness that we have now as far as I am concerned. Got to go and wire in a 3 phase blower, outside (it lives in a small kiosk to keep the weather off) in pouring rain now. Pah

Simple for me as I don't drive,if public transport runs I go to work and if it doesnt its day off time (paid fortunately and not leave)

We have pretty simple rules here – don't drive/travel in if you don't think it's safe

BUT you either have to make up time lost, take it unpaid or take it as holiday.

Here it seems to be – if you can't get to work don't risk it, no loss of pay or leave.

I live 2 roads from work. 👿 👿

But then if it were offered to me I'd take the extra holiday as compensation. 😀

But then if it were offered to me I'd take the extra holiday as compensation.

cant ever see that happening, getting an extra day holiday FOR turning up to work!!Follow the dream though my man 8)

cant ever see that happening, getting an extra day holiday FOR turning up to work!!Follow the dream though my man

I know it's a long shot, but those who make the effort oughta be rewarded, who many folks do we know see a flake of snow and say I can't get in, or I've got child care issues?

I would just like them to have a consistent policy. Two days they have put up messages saying you need to use annual leave if you don't make it in all but if you are late you won't be penalised. Then Wednesday, when we had the worst driving conditions so far, black ice, over 100 accidents before 9 am, police saying don't travel unless absolutely essential, they stopped the bin lorries (who have the same employer) because the roads are too dangerous and they say "on this occasion, employees who were late to work this morning will have to use their own time"

I know it's a long shot, but those who make the effort oughta be rewarded,

So those who ignore police and highway authority advice not to travel should be rewarded?
Obviously if your job is essential it's a bit different 🙂

I've not trawled through all this, but I will say that the radio often doesn't help. My wife and I live and Leek and she works in Buxton. Every day for the past week or so local radio has said that the main road over the moors to Buxton is closed. My wife got fed up and tried it and she could get through fine. Even today they say it is closed.

I think the radio is pandering to the lowest common denominator i.e. those who can't actually drive

and to add, the "closed" signs are up but it is passable. Sure there may be a bit of snow and ice but it's winter for crying out loud

i posted about getting into work in the snow last week when half our staff didnt come in.

they have now made a policy up..

if you don't come in you can either..

1 – take a holiday

2 – take unpaid day

3 – work the 9 hours back

i think its fair, funny thing is since they brought the above in nearly everyone turned up this week.

i had to sit in the office on my own again on wednesday, i dont really mind as i get loads more done.

i had not choice though, the MD is a family member and they have a 4×4!! 👿

Our place had a couple of days when they let us go early, or said 'don't travel between 8 or 9 in the morning' so as long as you got here at some point there's been no niggles about hours etc. If you live somewhere hilly they'd let you off.

I've biked in on the Remedy every day and I think it's the best workout I've probably ever had. Though like the people with 4x4s I think I did myself out of a decent excuse there 😕

So those who ignore police and highway authority advice not to travel should be rewarded?
Obviously if your job is essential it's a bit different

Who's to say that they ignore the advice of the authorities, and use public transport if it's running, or try walking to work? Too many people IMO use the "Don't travel unless it's necessary" as the I'll take another day off excuse and don't lose pay or holiday.

Round here, almost all the schools closed, there were something ridiculous like 30 car accidents on the ice in one morning. Lots of the steep roads were covered in sheet ice, I saw a stranded car on the moor road. etc. I'd be pissed off if I had an idiot employer who suggested we should all struggle in to work on a day like that, or else lose a day of pay. It just shows zero respect for the safety of your staff encouraging them to drive in this weather.

And as for the people who drive 50 miles on very icy roads and 'risk losing their no claims', the last thing that employers should be doing is encouraging them by docking people's pay.

Obviously people shouldn't take the piss, but even the A52 (big main road/bypass road) earlier this week was dangerous in parts, I know a couple of people who've bashed their cars, very sensible drivers generally. It'd be stupid to struggle in unless you have a really important job (like if you drive a gritter, or work in a hospital, I don't mean if you're a middle manager in IT). Employers who force people to drive in this weather are just stupid, it's short term thinking, in the long term they'd have happier, safer staff, and keep them longer by not penny pinching about things like this.

Personally, I have the misfortune to be employed by someone who makes it all too easy to work from home, so I've worked full days all through, but I haven't been in the office as much as usual for sure. I don't know why most office jobs don't sort out home working, times like this it is so much easier to stay productive.

Joe (in the office today)

the "closed" signs are up but it is passable. Sure there may be a bit of snow and ice but it's winter for crying out loud

Had this on my route to work. Curiously a steady 30ish in the snow with no traffic worked out quicker than being stuck behind the bellends who can't drive on a country road in the dry crawling round corners at 15 I normally have to put up with. I think it should snow more – that way the idiots who can't drive don't!

Snow is ok to drive on, it was the cm of pure ice on the roads that made it difficult round here on Wednesday, compounded by the fact they are only gritting a and b roads. There's lot's of main roads that get very busy but aren't a or b so don't get done. Watching a policeman push a mercedes up a slight incline and the look of embarrasment on the driver's (male) face brightened my day though

Hmm, my union's issued a statement that as far as they're concerned, everyone who couldn't get to work should still be paid. It turns out that's annoying me, I didn't think it would.

i couldn't get to work because the road was closed for 1 day, no public transport running, and 8 miles each way is too far to walk) i won't be paid, and i am not allowed to take it as a holiday.

My wife's work was closed all week, it's round the corner from our house so she can walk, but she won't be paid either, and has no holidays left to take.

Some employers take the piss