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MET Eireann warned that temperatures could plummet to a freezing -11C tonight tonight as they placed 25 counties under a Status Orange warning.

Ireland is currently facing off with treacherous roads, power and water outages and school closures after an Arctic blast brought freezing temperatures, ice and snow.

Getty Images - Getty

The 17-hour Status Orange warning in place for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Munster and Connacht from 6pm tonight reflects weather that may pose a “threat to life or property”.

In the event that the weather conditions have worsened and the Status Orange warning has been updated to a Status Red warning, it means that it is “rare and very dangerous weather conditions” from intense meteorological phenomena.

Met Eireann has warned that there could be more snow tonight after some areas of the country were snowed in during the week and others faced dangerous, icy roads and freezing fog.

And inevitably people will start to wonder how far temperatures have to drop and how much snow must fall before they can take a day off work.

A workplace expert has issued some top advice for staff during severe weather events and whether they can still get paid if they are forced to miss a day due to the conditions.

Rules are different for office and manual workers, and the expert has urged employers to remember their duty of care to employees.

Damien McCarthy from HR Buddy stated that the employer’s duty is to provide a safe workplace, including ensuring that employees are not required to undertake a hazardous journey to work, putting their lives at risk.

He stated that if public transport is not operating due to extreme weather conditions, employers are exposed to the risk of claims by employees who suffer accidents on their way to work by walking or driving.

Bus Eireann and Irish Rail have been forced to cancel some journeys and delay other routes due to the dangerous conditions over the last few days.

McCarthy added: “If the decision to remain open during an extreme weather event is made, employee safety will need to be prioritised.

“The risk of personal injury claims increases significantly during extreme weather events.

“A risk assessment should be carried out and appropriate measures such as gritting walkways and clearing snow will need to be undertaken.”

PAID LEAVE OR WORKING FROM HOME

The likelihood of extreme weather conditions is infrequent in Ireland, meaning most’s company’s policy for it is typically at the bottom of their lists of priorities, even though they should treat workers reasonably to avoid any risks.

McCarthy said: “It is nevertheless good practice to develop such a policy document which should clarify the measures the organisation will take during extreme weather events to include issues of pay, public transport closures, remote work and attendance.

“Once the policy is developed it should be clearly communicated to all employees.”

However, if an employee is capable of working from home during the disruption, this could be taken into consideration and, if suitable, discussed with their line manager.

While a few exceptions may be allowed when workers arrive late or go early, employers should think about offering paid leave in which workers make up for the lost time later, ideally within a month of the incident.

WHEN IS IT TOO COLD TO WORK?

As it stands, there is no legal temperature for when it becomes too cold to work.

For sedentary and office workers, there are, however, guidelines in place to ensure employees are working at a safe temperature.

The Health and Safety Authority advises a range of 18C to 23C, but this depends on several factors, including working conditions, PPE and levels of physical activity.

For all other manual workers, the temperature must be “appropriate for human beings, regarding the working methods used and the physical demands placed on them”.

The Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 specify 17.5C as the minimum temperature for sedentary office work.

For other sedentary work that does not involve serious physical effort, a minimum temperature of 16C should be “achieved and maintained after the first hour’s work.”

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Employers may have included policies and procedures in their contracts of employment to cover severe weather events, which may include:

• The taking of annual leave for the days absent to avoid employee loss of earnings
• Agreement to work back the hours/days lost
• Alternative opening days or trading hours on a day when the business is normally closed
• Working from home where feasible and practical
• Working from an alternative location where feasible and practical
• Or other beneficial arrangements

IS THE EMPLOYER OBLIGED TO PAY THE EMPLOYEE?

In general, there is no statutory entitlement for an employee to be paid if they cannot attend work because of extreme weather.

Any more beneficial arrangement is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee.

Employers are encouraged to take a long-term view of the working relationship, recognising that demonstrating concern for the welfare of employees and treating employees fairly translates into a better working environment for the benefit of both the staff and the employer.

CAN AN EMPLOYEE TAKE ANNUAL LEAVE DAYS?

If an employee cannot make it to work due to severe weather but still needs to be paid, employers may have the employee take annual leave for the day or days covered by the event.

In this case, they would be paid for the day off but would use up some annual leave.

The employer and employer could also agree on an arrangement for the employee to take unpaid leave to cover the unforeseen absence from work.

ROSTER CHANGES & TEMPORARY LAYOFF

Normally, employees are entitled to notice of at least 24 hours of a roster change.

However, this does not apply in exceptional circumstances like extreme weather events.

If an employer cannot open the premises due to the weather, employees may be put on a period of layoff.

An employer may lay off employees when there is no work available for a temporary period with that employer.

If employees are laid off, then the employer is not obliged to pay employees.

Laid-off employees may be entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance from the Department of Social Protection for the days they are not working.

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