Hello, I wondered if any organisations out there had a policy in place for driving during red weather alerts (met office issued). We have a general snow policy, but it doesn't take into account this particular issue. We have had a few queries raised by our workers about the validity of insurances, etc if they are requested to drive during such alerts and wondered if anyone has any experience of this at all? Thanks, Amy

I normally get the met office alerts sent to me so will alert the locality manager for any area where there is an alert of amber and above to monitor the local weather and to keep the staff informed (so if there are any members that have longer journeys etc, they can prepare by either leaving earlier or perhaps working out of an office a bit closer to where they live). We do have a Business Continuity Policy that includes inclement weather which also mentions checking local forecasts and staff being prepared as well as an Advice Sheet on our intranet on winter driving which has a car checklist e.g. check tyre pressure, tread, oil, route etc...).

The met office red alert says "Take action. Extreme weather is expected. Red means you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely. You must avoid dangerous areas and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities" Similar to others I have the Met alerts sent to me as I also co-ordinate our BCP and we also have response scenarios for extreme weather, I would imagine if a red alert was issued for our area and given the description I don't think staff would be going far, staff would in this scenario be sent home or told not to come in. Amy's response may be different depending on her business needs. I agree that insurance should still cover your drivers but best to check in case there are any conditions or restrictions in place.

But to be insured you are expected to drive within the recommended driving conditions. Which in most cases of extreme weather advice essential use only. Work in general is not essential, you should not risk your or others lives for the sake of presenteeism.

We do get weather alerts north of the Watford Gap, and they tend to be ok, if slightly cautious. The main difference in reporting the weather North Vs South tends to come from the popular media and its news reports, (and not the alerts) who do tend to focus very much on the south. For some businesses the weather is a consideration, but not something we cease operation for, public transport has to operate during poor weather, and despite the support of councils to grit main roads and bus stops, and the winter weather plans drawn up by businesses, we still see a spike of accidents every year, its just part of the landscape for us.

Clairel Better batten down those hatches!! http://www.metoffice.gov...yh&fcTime=1386201600 It must be bad if we are getting on the warning list.

I think the Met Office alerts are useful but not the be all and end all. For planning meetings where a member of staff is going to be travelling more than the local commute then yes, can be good as can suggest they use Video Conferencing instead / reschedule to a more central location or reschedule etc. but leave it up to the managers at the location to make a judgement call for their staff as they know the terrain / local roads / weather conditions in the area etc much better than I do so if the weather does start looking bad, they can inform their staff rather than putting out a blanket response for the whole of Scotland. I actually find Netweather's forecasts to be a bit more reliable for local weather as it gives the hourly forecast as well as have seen amber alerts for snow in the Tayside area etc and it's been sunny all day but that the Borders has 3 inches of the white stuff as it's hit land lower than the Met Office predictions. Where it is unpredictable (like 2010 when the M8 Glasgow - Edinburgh road was a car park for a day or so), other staff in the office tend to lend a hand by offering accomodation for the night and we even had a couple of staff stay in the office overnight rather than attempt to get home. Hopefully that doesn't happen this year but that was extreme weather conditions and even the emergency services were caught out that time!

Wind huh! I'd better stay at home just in case.

We changed our snow/bad weather policy earlier this year after the Met Office issued the first red alert anyone could remember for a long time back in January. For once the forecasters got it right and we got the deluge of snow promised overnight. We are a small company on the M4 corridor in South Wales with employees commuting in as much as 40 miles from the west, east and the South Wales valleys. On that day, only 6 out of 68 people got in and they all lived within walking distance. (The 6 who made it in were sent home mid morning and given 1/2 a day in lie for coming in). As a result, our policy now states :- The Management Team will review decisions to close the factory in advance to avoid unnecessary travel for employees when red alerts are given by the Met Office. In the event that the decision is made to close, employees will not be expected to either use annual leave or make the time up at a later date. The decision will be reviewed daily while the red alert is in place and a decision will be issued each afternoon concerning the following day. Once a decision has been made to close the factory for the following day, that decision will not be changed in the event that the weather is not as severe as forecast.

Too many on here trying to develop a persona, like the "straight talking northener" for instance. Very little of value posted, just an excuse for rudeness IMO

Exactly!!!!!

Just at what point was I rude? I am not a Troll and in my opinion I was not talking dross (isn't that rude to say such things!). I am also not trying to create any sort of persona. I gave advice based on my opinion, that: a) your insurance will not be invalidated just because there are weather alerts out there b) having a company policy that no one can drive when there is a weather alert is unrealistic and unecessarily burdensome on a business. c) the north and particularly north yorkshire does get missed from weather maps and reports. For example the fact that roads were closed round here for weeks last spring due to snowdrifts being a couple of metres high was ignored. Apparently that just happened in Wales and Cumbria. I, for example, live hundreds of miles from my head office so how on earth can they determine when it is safe to drive? It is not without thought for me to say that IMO each driver should just be advised to consider their own local road conditions and make a judgement call themselves. There are some on this forum who insist that an opposing opinion is somehow rude and antagonistic. That accusation in itself could be construed as just being rude and antagonistic!

Got to think about the power plants, water treatment works, continuous process plants, etc, in these businesses you have to try getting to work by any means possible, as failure to arrive can often mean the Operator who has just done a 12hr stint will end up having to stay-put to keep the essential processes running (been there, done the 24hr shift!), these industries cannot simply turn the lights off and go home. By all means have contingency plans in the event of people not making it to work due to inclement weather, but I'd personally steer clear of giving the green light not to even attempt getting to work on a weather warning Alan (straight talking northerner)

What she said !!!!

Tigers, don't use the word trolls you sound like a school kid.

Standby for more over the top 'nanny' advice about dealing with bad weather, driving etc from the media. Also see other recent treads on this forum. Its winter, deal with it - bad weather happens, its normal.

I love this type of thread, so many polarised views with the odd swipe - who said h&s was boring? First, I get fed up with sanctimonious alerts and briefings like the typical 'winter preparedness' briefing which gets rolled out every year. Really, have we nothing better to do with our time. As for the Met weather alerts, they can be relevant giving advance warning of inclement weather, particularly snow and high winds, which can impinge on both work and safety on site. As for the insurance bit...not even going there. Crack on.

I don't disagree with what was said on both sides - but the manner in which the message is delivered is sometimes a little crass. Tact and humility is something we can all strive to improve on in our daily lives. We shouldn't confuse this with being overly PC or not wanting hurt people's feelings - sometimes something has to be said in a clear and concise manner, but the delivery should always be in a manner that we like to be spoken to in return. If you shout alot at people don't be surprised when they start shouting back at you. Just sayin.

So I say again, just what issues do you have with what was said, exactly?

Don't talk to me about the War of the Roses, I had to go over to Lancashire today! Speaking of which, we did in fact have an amber weather alert today in the north. However, if you listened to the news and weather forecasts all the wind and rain happened in Scotland (and some even mentioned Lancashire). Yorkshire was only mentioned in relation to the tidal surges expected on the east coast later. However, I can definitely say the wind was worse in Yorkshire than over the Pennines into Lancashire. We are so ignored here!!! lol But my point being that national weather forecasts and news reports do not necessarily reflect the real picture. I had to go to a client in Lancashire today. I listened to the local radio and I looked out the window and I umed and ahhed and decided to go and see how it was out there. I could always turn round. It was pretty lairy at times (is that how you spell it?) but I felt it was as safe as I was happy with and kept going. However, I perfectly accept that another less experienced and less confident driver might decided to stay at home. That's my point. It has to be individual choice about the conditions. A factory may stay open when an employee feels it is not safe enough for them to drive. Or a factory may stay open but an employee feels that they are equipped to keep driving. I understand the need for broad policies but I think broad policies that are too specific (ie will will tell you when it is and isn't safe to drive) can be a bad thing.