Snow and business

Now, 46 years on, we are still regularly surprised by snow in January — and, at least this year and last, in December, too. But what lessons have Oxfordshire businesses learned from last winter’s chaos?

And does our way of life these days mean that snow business means no business for more of us these days than in the past — and if so, at what cost to the county’s economy?

Showbusiness obviously suffers if audiences cannot make it to the theatre, but the jury is still out on whether high street sales, apparently lost in the snow, are really lost or merely delayed.

And of course some businesses do better — like the shop where I bought walking shoes this week to avoid slipping on ice.

In January, BMW closed its Cowley factory twice, thanks to snow problems. Spokesman Rebecca Baxter declined to confirm if the company’s Munich factory stayed open — but if true it would reinforce widely held perceptions that British infrastructure copes particularly badly with snow.

This winter, so far at least, the Cowley plant has had no problems. Ms Baxter said it had been business as usual during the recent cold spell. But she declined to say whether the company had contingency plans for future snow disruption.

Iain Nicholson, of the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network, which has more than 1,600 members across the county, said of last year’s disruption: “It’s impossible to put anything like a sensible figure on the cost to business. Clearly there is significant disruption, working days lost and therefore damage to trade. But there are also offsetting factors. A lot of people now work from home, and having advance warning meant that more have been able to plan ahead and do so.”

This time around, what plans are Chamber members making to cope with snow next month?

Mr Nicholson said: “Each time this happens, businesses make plans for the next time that are suitable for their particular case.

“There has already this year been considerable disruption in other parts of the country and we are now begining to see supplies to Oxfordshire businesses affected.

“But a recent survey found that about half Oxfordshire businesses operate from owners’ homes anyway. And we are becoming more adept at video-conferencing, even while on the road.”

He added that he had been in Hacketts Cafe in Witney on Tuesday and been impressed by the number of people working on laptops.

He said: “Even ten years ago that would have been impossible. But on the other hand there were fewer just-in-time deliveries and people commuted less far.”

But what should people do about getting to work on snow days? Obviously the journey counts as an essential one for people in front- line services such as health, but is that true for people in the private sector who simply contribute to economic activity? Should they risk accidents by getting themselves to work?

William Downing, employment lawyer with Oxford law firm Morgan Cole, said: “The employment relationship between employers and employees is based on the employer paying wages to the employee in return for performing the duties of their job.

“If the workplace is open, failure to attend work is unauthorised absence and no payment needs to be made. In reality, most employers will probably give the employee the option of taking holiday (but cannot insist on this) or possibly making up the time on their return to work rather than not paying salaries.”

He added that if an employer closes its premises then unless there is a specific “lay off” clause in the contracts of employment, staff will need to be paid in the usual way.

This is because they have a statutory right protecting them from any unauthorised deductions being made from their wages, under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

And Mr Downing said that if an employee needs time off because a child cannot go to school, he or she may take “reasonable” time off under the Act.

He added: “The statutory right is to a reasonable period of unpaid leave and although the period is not specified, usually one or two days are sufficient to deal with the immediate emergency and to make alternative arrangements. Some employers provide that this time off is in fact paid.”

In countries such as Switzerland and Germany, businesses are required to clear snow from pavements in front of their premises. But in the UK, the myth persists that if you do such a thing you might get prosecuted should someone subsequently fall over and hurt themselves.

Julie Carlisle, personal injury lawyer at Oxford law firm Henmans, explodes that myth.

She said: “It’s nonsense. It will be a sad day indeed when we are presented from carrying out small tasks that benefit the wider commuinity because of the fear arising from a perceived risk of litigation.

“There is not a civil judge out there who would in ordinary circumstances award compensation in such a claim.”

But she added: “Of course, should you decide for reasons best known to yourself to go out at night with a kettle of boiling water, pour it on to the pavement and create an instant ice rink, then yes, you may face a claim.

“Otherwise it remains perfectly possible for an accident to be exactly that — an accident, for which no one is responsible.”

Many professional associations, among them the Thames Valley Society of Chartered Accountants, are urging small business bosses to “take on board the lessons of bad weather,” and to make sure they have plans in place to enable key employees to work from home.

Last January, the county council reckoned that the cost of keeping roads open was £1.5m, or £630,000 above budget.

This year spokesman Owen Morton said: “Our current salt levels are good, and we have more in stock than we started with last winter.

“The picture is constantly changing as salt is used and replenished.”

And as for those dancing railway porters. As someone who commutes to work on the Cotswold Line, I can report there are no porters about any more — and there wasn’t a train at Shipton on Thursday morning last week either, when the 7.40am did not turn up until well after 9am.

Some things don’t change — it’s still fun to moan about the railways.