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Adverse weather and employers duties.

Slips on snow and ice directly cause thousands of injuries annually, many requiring hospital treatment or leading to long term sickness; in many cases discussion about liability will arise.

Where snow is light and the conditions pass quickly, there is often little time to respond. However, where the hazardous conditions remain, employers have legal duties to ensure the workplace remains safe. These duties are to ensure they have done all that is reasonably practicable to avoid the danger and nothing else could have reasonably been done to prevent an accident or injury.

So what is reasonably practicable?

With foresight and time for planning, an employer should have a business continuity plan with a policy and procedure setting out their arrangements for dealing with the clearance of snow and ice. They should appoint a responsible person and ensure adequate resources are available including equipment and materials. When the snow arrives the conditions should be assessed and appropriate action then taken.

If you have not been able to prepare, now that we have significant snow and ice throughout the UK, you should act to ensure the workplace remains safe.

What should I do?

Complete an initial assessment of the conditions as they are on your site, monitor weather forecasts and review the conditions and your assessment daily whilst the snow and ice remain.
Prioritise your actions, clear snow and ice from access routes and grit them where possible.
Close access routes that you can not clear or do not need to use, do not divert pedestrian onto the highway.
Check escape routes from the premises are available for use and are not obstructed or blocked by snow and ice.
Where possible clear and grit car parks and vehicle movement areas including pedestrian access routes.
Give priority to any slopes or bends, also ensuring that entrances onto the public highway are cleared or gritted to reduce high speed vehicle accidents.
Check that cars are parked safely and do not obstruct footpaths and pedestrian entrances.
Ensure entrance areas remain dry, use extra mats to stop water spread into the building and arrange regular housekeeping inspections.

Remember, if you have contractors working on your site the risk in their workplace may increase substantially in server weather. As their client you should ensure that they have adequate precautions in place to provide for their own safety and that of others. Their risk assessments and methods statements must have been reviewed by a competent person.

You should record the actions that you have taken on a daily basis; a simple diary entry will act as a suitable record.

What about company drivers?

Driving in the current conditions will need careful consideration to ensure employee and public safety and avoid breakdowns or accidents. The best advice is not to drive unless the journey is absolutely necessary, this decision should be based on your own risk assessment. However, you must take note of warnings from the Met Office, the Highways Agency and other statutory bodies such as local or County Councils. Remember conditions will change daily and therefore your arrangements will need to be reviewed on a similar basis.

What reasonable actions can I take now?

In severe conditions you should decide if employees really need to be in the workplace, can you make alternative arrangements or allow them to work from home.
For company drivers you need to ensure both the vehicle and driver safety, considering what would happen in a breakdown or if they were stranded in a remote area.
Route planning to ensure the journey can be made safely is important. You should remember that in planning journeys usual routes may be unsuitable in adverse weather.
Remember that drivers in most cases are lone workers and you should have assessed the risk to them with priority to ensure that they arrive at their destination safely or can summon assistance where required.
Make sure company vehicles are prepared for their journey, they are cleared of snow, ice is removed from the windows, screen wash is topped up and not frozen and that tyres and brakes are in good condition.
Ensure drivers carry additional clothing to keep warm should breakdown occur including high visibility jackets or vests.
Make sure drivers are aware of your break down arrangements and have emergency contact details should accident or incident occur.

What if my employees work outside or the workplace is cold?

Where persons are employed outside in inclement conditions they must be provided with adequate protective clothing to ensure that they remain warm and safe, this might include hats and gloves, safety boots and high visibility padded jackets. The work environment and conditions should form part of your risk assessment; in extreme weather conditions this should be reviewed and where appropriate additional arrangements and personal protection put in place.

The risk in some work activities also increase significantly in cold weather, for example the impact of vibration on the body and the risk of falling from height.

In such circumstances what is reasonably practicable and what action should I take?

Additional clothing may be required, or existing protective clothing may need replacement to ensure it remains effective in keeping people warm.
You should ensure that a suitable place is provided for employees to dry their work clothing when not in use.
Additional breaks may be required along with the provision of hot drinks.
Rest areas may need additional temporary heating.
Supervisory checks should be increased to ensure employees remain fit and well and are not suffering from the effects of the weather.
Some more hazardous activities may need to be deferred or additional protective measures put in place.

What about workplace temperatures?

One of the most common complaints in adverse weather is that the workplace is cold and the heating is inadequate. Thermal comfort is a difficult area; some people may feel the cold more than others and no two workplaces will be the same.

The temperature in the workplace should normally be at least 16°C unless much of the work involves physical effort, in which case the temperature may be lower. In all cases the nature of the workplace should be taken into account and it can be reasonably acceptable for the workplace to not be at this temperature when people first arrive at work. In adverse weather where a reasonably comfortable temperature can not be achieved in a workplace additional arrangements may be required to ensure employee comfort allowing them to work safely. Additional arrangements may include:

Providing temporary heating
The provision of additional clothing, such as fleece or jacket for a warehouse operative
Additional breaks to a warm rest area
The provision of hot drinks.

Need more advice? The Mentor Health and Safety Advice Service - 0800 634 7000 - is available on a 24/7 basis to support your business and answer your specific questions. Call us now!

Please read legal information.