Snow chaos: know your rights

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Whether you couldn’t make it to work, you missed a flight, or a package you ordered failed to arrive, we explain what your rights are.

Snow has prevented hundreds of thousands of people from getting to work, ruined holidays when trains or planes haven't arrived (or departed) and left us looking after kids when the schools have shut.

When winter weather puts an icy spanner into our daily lives there are all sorts of consequences, and some of them can make things messy.

Here are some scenarios which will have affected millions of us, and what we can do about them.


I couldn't get to work today, but my boss says I have to take the day as holiday. Can he/she force that?

It depends. Most employers take a reasonable approach and will not force employees who have made genuine attempts to get to work to make up the time. In a few cases, employee contracts will stipulate what should happen in such situations, but for most it does not.

Those who are paid purely for contracted hours worked have few protections against loss of pay in such circumstances.

Salaried staff, however, are protected against unauthorised deductions from pay, so if it isn't in the contract, employers shouldn't do it. However, it is inevitable that in any office some will make it in despite awful weather, and others not. Employers who suspect employees of using bad weather as an excuse for 'skiving' may attempt to penalise them.

The best defence against that is to demonstrate your best attempts to get in. An early phone call logged at the office describing the difficulties, emailed pictures of your snowbound drive, and offering to do plenty of work from home would all mitigate these suspicions.

Besides, if an employee feels coerced to go to work when it is not safe to do so, the employer might be infringing a duty of care enshrined in section 2 of the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act.

I could get to work, but had to look after my kids because the school shut.

Employees are entitled to 'reasonable' unpaid time off to deal with emergencies involving a dependent - so not just children, but an elderly parent or a disabled relative who lives with you. Even a vulnerable neighbour who depends on you may qualify.

In practice, most salaried staff in large employers do not face deductions in pay to meet this but, once again, the hourly-paid often do. However, issues may arise if the regularity of such emergencies test the patience of employers - or the colleagues who have to cover.

I have been waiting for a parcel that has failed to arrive because the Post Office can't get here. Can I get-my money back?

Most parcels will arrive, eventually, but if they fail to turn up at all you can ask the company that dispatched them to send you another.

Usually, two weeks would be the time when you can be fairly sure it won't arrive at all. Under consumer law you are unlikely to be able to force the supplier to give you a refund for delayed arrival, unless the item in question was, say, a concert or train ticket which would no longer be valid.

Those who send parcels which do not arrive can get compensation from the Post Office, so long as proof of posting was retained. So always make sure you keep that counter receipt. The value limit is usually £34, unless a premium service has been used. Private delivery companies have similar schemes.

I arrived at the airport to find that all flights were grounded because of snow, can I get compensation?
Yes, unless the airline can claim that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond its control. It may well be that airlines will try to use that loophole this winter, but a test case in December 2008 limits the definition of "exceptional" quite closely.

The amount you can claim is strictly laid out on the Air Transport Users Council website, but be very careful about incurring extra charges (such as booking an extra night in a hotel) unless you have insurance that you know will pay for it.

Depending on the airline, you may have difficulty claiming consequential loss and expenses, as many travellers affected by the Icelandic ash cloud earlier this year discovered.

I was due to go on a holiday, but missed the plane because of snow on the roads. Can I get compensation?
No. Holiday companies and airlines cannot be held responsible for individual situations beyond their control.

Holiday insurance is a sensible precaution, which should cover you for this kind of delay, but do check the small print for the excess and claim limits.

I spent a night on a train which broke down in the middle of nowhere. Am I entitled to compensation?
It wouldn't be difficult to make a legal case that a train company was failing in its duty of care to leave you stranded, even though there were probably exceptional weather conditions that might provide some defence.

In any case, most operators do offer a (little-known) compensation scheme for delayed trains, but you would probably want to get something higher than this.

The best policy here is perhaps to make an immediate complaint, backed up by details (make sure you keep your ticket), and if you fail to get satisfaction (and have a sufficiently exceptional case to be newsworthy) threaten to contact the press.

I abandoned my car on a road in the snow, and when I got back to it this morning, it had suffered damage. What can I do?
You should be able to claim on your insurance, so long as the conditions were bad enough to justify abandoning the vehicle.

However, if you left your car unlocked with the engine running while you nipped in to get something from a shop, you wouldn't be covered if someone stole it.

I had a minor accident with an oncoming car on a snowy road. The white line wasn't visible, and-inadvertently l was the wrong side of it. Am I liable?
If there is clear evidence that you were on the wrong side of the road, however understandably, it is your insurance that will take the hit. That is simply because the alternative - the other side paying - would be wrong.

There are many grey areas in claims for this type of event, but common sense will govern most of them.

An elderly neighbour was knocked to the ground by snow sliding off my roof. Am I liable?
In theory you might be, but a court would make note of how reasonable or not it might be for you to somehow be able to prevent this and whether or not the snow fell on to a public place.

Peter Staddon, head of technical services at the British Insurance Brokers Association, said that if a postman falls over on your snowy and icy drive, you would certainly be able to defend the case. "However if you had already cleared it, but not done so very well there might be a bit more legal danger".

[comeracing]

what i want to know is last wednesday i walked for 40 mins to our local office in the terrible weather conditions.got there 6 am 3 other staff there .they said we have to shut the main gates and have a closed sign on the front no deliverys etc.management never contacted me and other staff telling us not to go to work. other collegues turned up at various times in the morning to start there duty only to find the gates closed.very poor organisation and planning.NOW THEY SAY BECUASE THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED WE OWE THEM BANKED HOURS IN MY CASE 7 HR 12 MINS OF MY CONTRACT TIME.TEXT OUR LOCAL UNION REP BUT NO REPLY AS YET.SURELY THIS IS WRONG NOT OUR FAULT MAIL COULD NOT GET TO OUR OFFICE.any one out there help or have any ideas on this situation,sure theres plenty around the uk with the same problem.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

what i want to know is last wednesday i walked for 40 mins to our local office in the terrible weather conditions.got there 6 am 3 other staff there .they said we have to shut the main gates and have a closed sign on the front no deliverys etc.management never contacted me and other staff telling us not to go to work. other collegues turned up at various times in the morning to start there duty only to find the gates closed.very poor organisation and planning.NOW THEY SAY BECUASE THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED WE OWE THEM BANKED HOURS IN MY CASE 7 HR 12 MINS OF MY CONTRACT TIME.TEXT OUR LOCAL UNION REP BUT NO REPLY AS YET.SURELY THIS IS WRONG NOT OUR FAULT MAIL COULD NOT GET TO OUR OFFICE.any one out there help or have any ideas on this situation,sure theres plenty around the uk with the same problem.

Check this thread out - all will become clear http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 82#p333482" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pat Ostman]

What a place to work for. Yep we were threatened with this although they are beginning to back track. I was also denied time off to look after dependents. And no I was not asking for any paid absence. Just 1.30hr unpaid leave.

Well, at least I was needed I guess……