Snow chaos: your rights if you can't get to work Again, much of the above applies. You don't have a legal right to be paid, so what can happen is that your employer suggests the unpaid day's work is taken as part of your annual leave. You don't have to take this up, but if you don't you may end up simply not being paid for the day. In law, you are entitled to a minimum notice period that is twice as long as the paid leave your company wants you to take - so it would need to provide two days" notice for one day's leave. However, this notice isn't required if your holiday entitlement is more than the statutory minimum (which is 5.6 weeks a year, including bank holidays). Alternatively, your employer may suggest that you make up the time by working extended hours over the next few weeks. Again, this isn't compulsory but may be a more palatable alternative to simply losing a day's wages. What about school closures? It's not my fault that the school is closed and I can't leave my children on their own Employers are obliged to give employees time off in emergencies if they have dependants. But they are not obliged to pay them for this time. This would cover school closures. Again, many employers take a more enlightened approach and will allow a degree of flexibility. But if you aren't being paid you have to weight up which is more costly, the loss of a day's wages or arranging emergency childcare, if this can be done at short notice. What if my workplace is closed - will I still get paid? If your place of work is shut down because of the adverse weather you are still entitled to be paid. In such circumstances your employers should not be able to dock the day's pay or force you to take the time as annual leave. However, they could ask you to work from home, or other premises, which you would be obliged to do. Can an employer force me into work if I have been advised not to travel? If you feel the journey could be unsafe then Acas - the employment advice and conciliation service - said employers couldn't force staff to get into work. However, they don't then have to pay them, so it could be argued that this pressure will mean many people do travel even when official warnings not to do so are in place. Can you claim expenses from your company for additional travelling costs such as taxis etc? No, unless your employment contract specifically makes provision for this. Can you sue or claim compensation if you fall over on a public street or when using public transport and feel more should have been done to make it safe? If you feel that a company or local authority has been negligent, you may be able to bring a personal injury claim if you can argue that such an outcome was foreseeable.