We don’t want to be alarmist or to be seen as being “over-the-top”, but it is the general absence of what is considered “Bad Weather” that might cause employers to forget the proper way to deal with employee Health and Safety obligations when there are significant adverse conditions.
If the business remains open, you may choose to give employees the option to come in or allow them to take annual leave, unpaid leave or you can try to alter shift patterns to suit them. Additionally, you may allow them to work time owed at another time. However essentially if they choose not to come in there is NO obligation to pay them.
However, if YOU decide to close the business you need to pay the employee for the hours they were rostered because employees are entitled to one months’ notice to take a designated annual leave day which is not an option in this case.
It is important to remember that Health and Safety trumps everything. Encourage employees to make their decision based on their own location and commute and to consider their health and safety above all else.