Employees snowed in

Almost half of Brits worked from home on Wednesday after the cold snap left many snowed in - let us know how the arctic weather's affected you

Almost half of workers stayed at home on Wednesday as the Arctic weather caused travel chaos, making it impossible for many people to get to the office.

Working from home

A snap poll of more than 460 companies by employment law firm Peninsula found that 44% of employees had decided to work from home.

The news followed pleas by the TUC and employer groups for firms to allow staff to work remotely in a bid to save money and avoid tortuous journeys in the snow.

Encourage leniency

David Price, of Peninsula, urged firms not to discipline staff if they failed to make it to the office.

"Employees calling in unable to get to work should be given the benefit of the doubt. Obviously some people will take advantage of the winter weather and stay at home, treating it as an extension to the Christmas holiday.

"However, employers should be a little more flexible and, with the snow set to continue, bosses may wish to look at ways to make travelling home a little easier.

"Look at the possibility of an earlier finish or alternative methods of getting people home, especially for those staff that use public transport.

"Where possible, companies should also look at the possibility of allowing staff to work from home.

"There is a lot of confusion about whether employees should be paid for today or to take it as holiday.

"Obviously, we hope these conditions are temporary but where possible see if employees can work from home. Don't force staff to come to work if conditions are dangerous."

The TUC urged firms not to dock the pay of people unable to get to work or to make them take holidays, as happened in some cases during the last spell of cold weather a year ago.

Expensive problem

The huge disruption is likely to cost British industry tens of millions of pounds a day, with the retail trade especially hard hit.

Many shoppers stayed away from town centres, while some staff were unable to get to work.

Snowed in?

Let us know if you've had trouble getting into work due to the weather conditions. Fill in the form below and tell us your story.