Parents whose child's school is shut due to UK snow issued warning

Parents whose children's school have closed for the UK snow blast have been issued a warning over employment rights. According to local councils, more than a dozen schools, including nursery and secondary facilities, will not open for teaching today.

Parents have been advised to check online to see if their child's school has been impacted by poor weather conditions. Neha Thethi, head of employment at Lime Solicitors, said: “Schools are often closed when there is bad weather, forcing many employees to stay at home to look after their children. If a school was closed at short notice, this would constitute an emergency relating to a dependant, in which case, you would be entitled to take time off as dependency leave. This type of leave does not have to be paid. Your employer cannot refuse you dependency leave if you have no other choice, and you cannot be disciplined or sacked for taking the time off.”

She said: "On a general note, employers do not have to pay employees who are unable to get into work, subject to their contract. Employees are expected to make reasonable efforts to attend work despite any severe transport disruption or road closures. However, it is usually best practice to be flexible in these circumstances by allowing employees to request the time off as annual leave or to work from home.

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“With the help of technology and working adjustments made during the coronavirus pandemic, many employees should be able to work from home. However, it is important to remember your employer should not force you to attempt the journey if there are legitimate concerns for your safety.”

Ms Thethi said: “If your employer has closed the office because it is inaccessible, they should usually still pay employees for that day. Withholding pay when employees are unable to work through no fault of their own could be considered as an unauthorised deduction from wages.

“In those circumstances, employees may be able to bring a claim against their employer. However, it should be noted that some employment contracts contain a temporary ‘lay-off’ clause. If this is the case, employers can refuse to give the full amount of pay to employees to a limited time.”