Adopted: 21 September 2026  |  Review Date: September 2028

  1. Introduction
    • PPC recognises that there will inevitably be occasions when weather conditions are so severe that some employees will either be prevented from getting to their normal place of work or will be late and/or need to leave early.
    • While PPC is committed to protecting that health and safety of all its employees, it must ensure that disruption caused to its services remains minimal.
    • This policy sets out PPC’s approach to dealing with situations where normal arrangements for travelling to or attending work are disrupted.
  1. Responsibilities of Staff
    • It is expected that employees will make every reasonable effort to reach their place of work, however, employees are not expected to, and should not, put themselves at risk.
  • In the event of adverse weather conditions, employees will take all reasonable steps to report their inability to attend work to the Clerk and or their Line Manager as soon as it is practicably possible. This should be in line with the normal arrangements for reporting sickness absence or other unanticipated absence and this will apply for each day that the member of staff is unable to attend work.
  1. Inability to Attend Work
    • If an employee has made all reasonable efforts to travel to their place of work but has failed due to adverse weather conditions, upon arrangement with the Clerk, employees will be entitled to take one of the following options
  • Working from home (if practicable)
  • Making up the time/hours lost
  • Taking a day’s/half day’s annual leave
  • Taking unpaid leave
  • Or a combination of the above options.
  • Paid leave may also be agreed in certain circumstances at the discretion of the Clerk after consultation with the Chair of the Staffing Committee.
  1. Late Arrival
    • If the employee has made efforts to attend work on time and arrives late they will not be expected to make the time up if the lateness in total is no more than half the employee’s normal working day, having regard to the severity of the conditions and the personal circumstances of individual staff members.
  1. Leaving Early
    • The Clerk will be responsible for deciding whether any request to leave early is warranted.
    • Where the Clerk is satisfied that early release is justified, the employee will be authorised to leave work early.
    • Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, employees will be expected to continue working from home for the remainder of their contracted hours. However, employees will not normally be expected to make up the time where the amount of time lost is no more than half of their normal working day, having regard to the severity of the conditions and the employee’s individual circumstances. Where home working is not possible and the time lost exceeds this, alternative arrangements should be agreed with the Clerk, which may include undertaking suitable online training, making up the time, taking annual leave, unpaid leave, or another reasonable arrangement, depending on the circumstances.
  1. Closure of Place of Work
    • The Clerk, after consultation with the Chair of Staffing, will be responsible for deciding whether to close a place of work due to adverse weather.
    • Where a place of work is closed, employees will be entitled to paid leave for their normal hours of work for the duration of the closure. However, where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, employees will be expected to continue working from home for the remainder of their contracted hours. Where home working is not possible, alternative arrangements should be agreed with the Clerk, which may include undertaking suitable online training, taking annual leave, unpaid leave, making up the time, or another reasonable arrangement, depending on the circumstances. Employees will not normally be expected to make up the time where the amount of time lost is no more than half of their normal working day, having regard to the severity of the conditions and the employee’s individual circumstances.
  1. Council Meetings
    • The decision to cancel any meeting of the Council due to adverse weather will be made by the Clerk following consultation with the Chair of the Council or the Chair of the relevant committee.
  1. School Closures & Other unexpected Emergencies
    • In an emergency situation involving a dependent, with agreement from the Clerk, employees have the right to request
  • Working from home (if practicable)
  • Making up the time/hours lost
  • Taking a day’s/half day’s annual leave
  • Taking unpaid leave
  • Or a combination of the above options.

Situations could include:

  • School is closed and a worker cannot leave their child
  • Caring arrangements for a disabled relative are cancelled
  • A partner is seriously injured as a result of bad weather.
  1. Minimum and Maximum Workplace Temperature
    • The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 states the employer should maintain a reasonable workplace temperature, but it doesn’t specify a minimum or maximum temperature. Therefore, the Clerk will determine what constitutes a reasonable approach in adverse weather conditions. The reasonable level will depend on the nature of the employee’s role and their workplace.
  1. Additional Hours
    • Where there are increased absence levels in vital service areas, Council may need to ask those able to get to work, to work additional hours with the approval of the Chair of Staffing.
  • Bearing in mind the requirements of the Working Time Directive, additional working requirements should not be used in the long term, but to cover short-term crisis situations. Care will be taken to ensure those working additional hours do not put their own or others health and safety at risk and that they get regular rest breaks.  If employees work additional hours, they will normally be remunerated through time back arrangements such as TOIL.
  1. Other Considerations
    • Special care should be taken when applying this policy where it is known that an employee has mobility problems or a medical/health condition which may be exacerbated by adverse weather conditions.
    • Employees who are already on leave (annual, maternity, sickness etc.) will not be entitled to a day off in lieu if their place of work is closed.
    • If the Council has reason to suspect that an employee is abusing this flexible approach to lateness or absence, a full investigation will be undertaken in line with the Disciplinary Policy. If such abuse is established, it will be treated as any other form of unauthorised absence.