Business bosses are being urged to let staff work from home where possible, rather than forcing them to struggle to the office amid freezing weather and treacherous conditions on the nation's roads. If homeworking is not an option, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), then employees shouldn't lose pay or be forced to use up holiday.

With several inches of snow blanketing some parts of the country, up to ten per cent of workers have been absent from the office this week, underlining yet again the business benefits offered by the facilitation of homeworking.

Stating that all staff should be given the option of working from home, the TUC's Brendan Barber also urged employers to let individuals who do make it to the office to leave early if necessary.

"Employers and workers must keep each other informed as to whether it's safe, or even possible, to commute to and from work," he remarked. "Scrooge bosses who dock pay and take away holiday are needlessly adding to their business woes by creating resentment amongst staff."

The Federation of Small Businesses has also suggested that staff should not be asked to shoulder the workload of absent colleagues.