Extreme Weather Information For Staff

When an Extreme Weather Event has been declared, a notification will be put on this page along with regular updates.

If an Extreme Weather Event is declared, there is a policy which all staff must adhere to.

The basic principle of the policy is that we all have a duty to make every reasonable effort to attend work, even during periods of extreme weather, to ensure services  and patient care are not unduly disrupted. We know that staff often go to great lengths to ensure that disruption to the service is kept to a minimum by staying on site and covering shifts of colleagues who are unable to get to work etc. and we are extremely grateful for these efforts. 

Where an Extreme Weather Event is designated, you should not assume that paid leave will be agreed, as it will depend on a number of circumstances.

In situations where public transport and/or travel by car is affected by snow, you will be expected to attempt a reasonable journey on foot. It is difficult to be prescriptive about what would be a reasonable journey on foot as everyone’s circumstances are very different. You should discuss this with your manager when you ring in. It would depend on current and expected weather conditions, the distance involved and your individual circumstances.

You need to assess the conditions where you live and would not be expected to put yourself in any danger or take any unreasonable risk. If you have a disability that affects your mobility, or you are pregnant, then you would not be expected to walk to work.

Where a journey to your normal place of work is not possible or you are likely to be late, you must:

1. Notify your line manager or designated contact of your difficulties in getting to work.

2. Discuss with your manager whether you are able to attend your own workplace, or alternatively a more convenient Swansea Bay health unit (hospital, clinic, office, etc.). You should not report to a health facility outside of Swansea Bay Health Board. In some very specific circumstances, you may be able to volunteer to work at hospital site of another Health Board ** see note below.

3. If you are able to work effectively from home, you must notify your line manager and obtain permission to work from home on the day(s) concerned.

4. This process must be followed for each day of bad weather.

If, in discussion with your manager, it is agreed that it is not feasible for you to attend for work within this Health Board or to work from home, permission will be granted for you to receive paid special leave. However, the weather conditions must be regularly reviewed and, as soon as conditions permit, you must make every effort to attend for work.

If a manager believes that a person could attend work but the employee does not feel able to make the journey then payment will not be authorised. In such cases the employee can take annual leave, use time owing or, for those that work part time, they can agree with their manager to work the hours back at another time. Where none of these solutions is possible, the time will be treated as unpaid leave.

Where you attend your normal place of work or another Health Board facility, you will receive a normal day’s pay.

If you arrive late or agree with your manager that you should finish early because of deteriorating weather conditions you will be paid a normal day’s pay but if you ask to leave early for other reasons (such as school closures), you will be asked to facilitate this as described above, e.g. annual leave, time owing etc.

Managers must also be aware that staff employed by another NHS Health Board who attend premises within Swansea Bay UHB, must not be a permitted to work unless they are in one of the groups of staff identified below. ** see note below.

**This year an agreement has been reached between a number of Health Boards in Wales ( i.e. Aneurin Bevan, Cardiff and Vale, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Hywel Dda and Swansea Bay UHB) that in certain very limited circumstances staff from other Health Boards may be able to work for us or vice versa. This applies only to registrant nursing staff working in the Emergency Unit, Theatres, or Intensive Care.

The provision only applies when the nurse has made every reasonable effort to attend their own workplace, or alternative Swansea premises in line with our policy and have been unable to do so.

This is a voluntary arrangement and a nurse cannot be obliged to offer their services outside of their own Health Board if they do not wish to do so. If they do want to, this must be with the agreement of their own line manager and the receiving manager.

There is a protocol in place to ensure the appropriate identity and registration checks and the receiving manager must ensure these are in place before the nurse starts work.