We had two employees who could not get to and ‘from’ work because of the bad weather. One said she was snowed in and could not get out of her house (which is in the country up an untreated road). The other was travelling back from Dublin after work and the work van was slipping all over the road. After three hours of not going very far the employee booked into a hotel for the night. What are my responsibilities as an employer in these situations?

As a rule of thumb an employer's obligation to pay arises where the employee is willing and able to perform work. If an employee cannot get to work or they cannot carry out their work, strictly speaking you do not have an obligation to pay these employees.

Having said that, many of our clients tend to deal with these issues pragmatically. After all, there is nothing in it for the employer to require the employee to spend all day trying to get in to the workplace. Indeed, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has recently warned UK employers and HR departments of the dangers of a lack of empathy as employees all over the UK struggle to get to grips with the recent