Due to the winter weather which may affect services through the closure of premises, please read ALL the following information carefully. Please ensure that staff contracts and contracts with parents reflect the situations and information below with respect to payment of wages, time-off, annual leave and fees.

Please note that if an out of school care (OSC) service is unable to operate due to a closure of premises then staff should still be paid- staff can use this time to study for qualifications, research new ideas etc. even if they are at home. Most OSC services will not be able to cover the costs of paying staff without gathering fees, so parents should be made aware through a policy and contract that fees will still be gathered. If a service is able to, and has reserves, they may choose to waiver fee payment for one day, or some other such arrangement; this decision however is down to individual services.

Please find below information which has been taken directly from gov.uk, the website for government information and services, and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) website, www.acas.org.uk

Travel disruption and work

Source: https://www.gov.uk/travel-disruption-your-rights-at-work

Employees should talk to their employer about working from home, taking leave or making time up later if they cannot get to work because of travel disruption.

Rights about travel disruption can be outlined in the employment contract - employees should check this first.

Taking paid holiday

If there's travel disruption, employers can ask staff to take paid holiday (annual leave) if they give the correct notice.

This must be at least double the length of time they want employees to take in annual leave. So for 1 day's annual leave it would be 2 days notice.

The employment contract may set down a different notice period and if so, this will usually apply.

Working flexibly

Employers may ask flexible workers to work from home or make up time later. Unless the employment contract says so, employers cannot insist on this.

If the workplace is closed

If the workplace is closed because of disruption and the employee does not usually work from home, employers cannot usually deduct pay.

Employers might be able to ask staff to go to another workplace or work from home.

Time off to look after children

If an employee's child's school is closed or their normal childcare arrangements are disrupted, they could have the right for time off to look after them.

This should be agreed between the employee and the employer.

Winter weather - travel disruption

Employees are not automatically entitled to pay if they're unable to get to work because of bad weather. Guidance is available from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) about winter weather - travel disruption.

Disruption getting to work - Travel, weather and other issues

Source: https://www.acas.org.uk/disruption-getting-to-work

It's usually the responsibility of employees to get to and from work.

However, sometimes something beyond an employee's control can affect them getting to work. For example:

• travel disruption - for example because of train strikes or extreme weather
• disruption to childcare arrangements - for example schools closing during teacher strikes

What staff can do if they cannot get to work

If someone cannot get to work or is delayed, they should contact their employer as soon as they can.

The employer should talk through their options and make clear if their pay will be affected.

The employer and employee should make sure they have each other's contact details and stay in contact.

Depending on their job, the employee could check if:

• they have what they need to be able to work from home, if this is an option
• there are any other ways to travel to work, if there's disruption to their usual transport
• their clients or customers understand the situation, if they'll be affected
• any urgent work needs covering
• they can make other care arrangements for children or dependants

Other arrangements employers could agree with staff

When disruption makes getting to work difficult or impossible, employers and staff should be as flexible as they can.

Employers have a 'duty of care' for the health and safety of all staff. This means they should not encourage staff to travel when it's not safe. For example, where heavy snow or ice means people are told not to travel by car or public transport except for emergencies.

The employer could allow staff to:

• come in later that day if the disruption is expected to stop - for example if weather is due to improve
• work flexible hours so they can make up any lost working time
• work from home
• temporarily adjust a hybrid working agreement - for example swapping which days someone works from home
• swap shifts with those who can get in more easily
• change duties temporarily to those that can still be carried out

When agreeing other options for work with staff, employers should:

• take into account individual circumstances, for example if someone has a health condition they might need adjustments for working in a different way
• keep in communication
• be consistent in how they treat everyone and explain any decisions

Using holiday

An employer can ask if employees would like to take holiday if they are unable to get to work due to disruption.

An employer can also tell employees that they must take holiday. This might be an option if they know about the disruption in advance, or it's likely to go on for a long time. The employer must give twice as much notice as the amount of holiday they want employees to take.

For example, if they want employees to take 1 day of holiday when there's disruption, they must give them 2 days' notice.

An employee might prefer to take paid holiday, if they do not get paid during disruption.

There might be circumstances where it's not possible for an employee to take holiday. For example, where they have already used up their annual leave for that year.

As alternatives in this situation, the employer could:

• allow the employee to borrow holiday from their entitlement for the following year - this is only an option if the employee's contract gives them more than the statutory 5.6 weeks holiday
• give the employee the time off as additional unpaid leave
• ask the employee to make up the time later
• ask the employee to swap shifts with someone else or swap any non-working days

If an employee needs time off to help someone else

If an employee has an emergency situation where they need to help someone who depends on them, they have the right to take 'time off for dependants'.

Emergency situations could include when:

• an employee's child's school has closed for the day so they need look after them at home
• usual care arrangements for an employee's dependant are cancelled so they need to arrange an alternative - for example if a dependant's carers cannot get to them

If extreme weather affects someone who has to drive for their job

Employers should plan for when extreme weather affects staff who drive for their job, for example delivery drivers or travelling salespersons.

The employer should:

• speak with them about other options for working
• get advice from any employee or trade union health and safety representative they have
• follow local travel advice
• do a risk assessment to decide if it's safe for the person to do their job and whether there are any risks they can reduce or remove

The employer should see if they can make any other arrangements, depending on the work. For example:

• changing delivery expectations to allow for safer but longer routes, longer breaks or missed driving days
• arranging for staff to work from home and hold sales meetings remotely
• If it's not safe for someone to work and there are no suitable alternatives, their entitlement to pay will depend on the terms of their contract.

Contact the Acas helpline

If you have questions about when disruption affects staff getting to work, contact the Acas helpline: https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

Extreme temperatures in the workplace

Source: https://www.acas.org.uk/extreme-temperatures-in-the-workplace

There is no legal maximum or minimum working temperature.

But by law, employers have a 'duty of care' to make sure working temperatures are reasonable for their staff. This includes at the workplace and working from home.

This means if extreme temperatures are expected, employers should:

• make plans for keeping staff comfortable and safe
• carry out health and safety risk assessments
• remove or reduce any risks found

For example, depending on if it's hot or cold, employers could:

• relax any dress code so staff can wear more suitable clothing, while still following rules on personal protective equipment (PPE)
• allow extra breaks for staff to get hot or cold drinks
• provide extra heating or cooling equipment, such as portable heaters, fans or air conditioning units

By law, employers must carry out health and safety risk assessments for all women of child-bearing age, including anyone who's pregnant, breastfeeding or just had a baby. If a risk cannot be avoided or removed, the employer must suspend the person on full pay until the risk has ended or been removed.

When doing risk assessments, employers must include those with health conditions or disabilities that can be affected by extreme temperatures. They should talk with the employee and agree on a suitable solution. For example, adjusting their working hours or having an air-conditioning unit by their desk.

What a reasonable working temperature is

Although there's no legal maximum or minimum working temperature, health and safety guidance is that a reasonable temperature should usually be at least 16°C. If much of the work involves a lot of physical effort, it's 13°C.

What is reasonable also depends on the working environment and type of work. For example a bakery, office, warehouse or cold storage could all reasonably be expected to have varying temperatures.

Find more guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE): https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/index.htm