When is it too cold to go to work or school and what temperature will I be sent home?
TEMPERATURES have plummeted across the UK as households face sub-zero temperatures.
Cold weather can often bring essential services to a standstill, but you might be wondering when is too cold to go to work or school.
Here's everything you need to know about your rights.
When is it too cold to go to work or school?
Temperatures dropped below freezing overnight with snow falling in the south of England today.
Ice and snow is already causing delays on roads and railways, with two yellow weather warnings issued in the last 24 hours.
One came into force at 4am for Kent, Surrey, Sussex and London while another for the whole of southern England and south Wales began at 3pm.
When it comes to heading to work, you should travel if it is safe and reasonable to do so.
If it isn't, contact your employer and consult the company handbook.
However, bear in mind your boss is not required to pay you if you cannot get to work in bad weather.
They might ask you to work from home, but if this isn't possible you may be asked to take unpaid or annual leave.
In the workplace, the mercury shouldn't dip below 16C and employers should try to increase temperature in the office or workplace.
A minimum of 13C is suggested if employees are doing physical work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that a workplace should provide "reasonable comfort".
Its Workplace Regulations 1999 state employers should "assess risks to health and safety and act where necessary (i.e. if the workplace temperature drops below the minimum guideline or if it is felt the temperature is too high)".
How cold does it have to get in order to be sent home?
There is no set temperature where employers have to send their employees home because it's too cold.
And since October 2012, there's no minimum temperatures in English schools, either.
The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 don't specify a safe classroom temperature, although the National Education Union advises a minimum of 18C.
At work, it's the employer's responsibility to ensure that the workplace has additional heating if the temperatures do get too cold.
Employers are recommended to include flexible working hours or rotas to help reduce the effects of a cold snap - but they don't have to.
Kate Palmer, head of advisory at employment law consultancy Peninsula, previously told The Sun an employer has no obligation to pay an employee if they fail to turn up for work because:
- The weather is bad
- Public transport is not running
- They miss hours because they turned up late
Plus, employees do not have a legal right to be paid in the event they take an emergency day off with their children.
So it's better to err on the side of caution and make sure you do all you can to get into school or work in poor weather.