How to legally get paid time off work because of the snow

Remember when snow meant snowball fights, snowmen and getting a free day off school, instead of delayed trains, black sludge ruining your new suede trainers and nervously skating the 200 metres down the road to your nearest Pret and back at lunch time?

Well, it may be possible for you to hark back to those glory days - the days where a snow day meant a fun day - as there’s a chance you might legally be able to take a day off work because of the weather, and still get paid for the privilege.

With the ‘Beast from the East’ rolling in, turning Britain to a crisp, white, minus-four-degree flake in the Atlantic Ocean, there’s a chance offices all around the country may be forced to close for safety reasons.

And if yours is one of those, and you don’t usually work from home, you can take the day off scot free, curled up under a blanket with no cares in the world, The Independent report.

According to the government website: “If the workplace is closed because of disruption and the employee doesn’t usually work from home, employers can’t usually deduct pay.” 

Yes, this means if you’re not normally allowed to work from home, your employer can’t make you do so if they decide to close the office for the day. Bingo.

Similarly, people with children may be able to get paid time off to look after them if their child’s school has closed due to the weather.

Gov.uk says: “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.”

Snowstorm Emma is expected to bring with it some of the coldest temperatures to hit British shores since 1991, which would make it the coldest in many millennials’ lifetimes. Pah, what snowflakes.

Blizzards, lightning, freezing rain and gales are just some of the fun weather symptoms we can expect over the coming days, and a couple of weeks ago we even warmed you about ’thundersnow’.

Many parts of the country are set to be colder than the Arctic Circle this weeks, which seems ridiculous, really. Shouldn’t be allowed.

Meanwhile, if you fancy finding out exactly what would happen if it just kept getting colder and colder forever, well, we’ve got you covered:

Read more: What will happen if it just keeps getting colder and colder?

(Images: Rex)