Everyone in the UK is bracing themselves for the arrival, and effect, of Storm Eunice. With winds of up to 100 mph expected, and Met Office warnings in place across the UK, securing people’s safety is essential.

Are you sure your employees and your business have everything needed to stay safe during the storm? Are you as prepared as you can be?

Our Health & Safety team have pulled together their top tips to make sure that you’ve got everything covered in your business.

What Industries Are Likely to Be Affected By The Bad Weather?

There’s risks involved for anyone, even travelling to and from an office job. However, some industries working practices are particular affected by bad weather, including:

  • Construction (domestic and commercial)
  • Roofers and scaffolders
  • Groundworkers and landscapers
  • Gardeners
  • Facilities management
  • Maintenance teams
  • Roadside workers / Civil engineers

General Tips

By making suitable considerations and completing proactive checks, you’ll be able to find any risks and hazards and put in place to help keep staff safe.

  • Working at height – high winds are potentially deadly for working being done at height. Rearrange any work scheduled to be done at height for another day when the storm has passed.
  • Loose items – you might have loose items, tools or materials in your workplace or for example, on scaffolding. If they get pick up in high winds, they could cause potentially fatal injuries. Make sure you tie these down, or move them to a safe, secure place.
  • Working from home – it might not always be possible, but if you do have roles that can be done from home, encourage people to stay in and stay safe.
  • Travel and appointments – reschedule whatever you need to avoid any unnecessary journeys, especially if you have employees that can work from home instead.

Emergency Plans

If you’re in a situation where the roles in your workplace can’t be done from home, your risk assessments are your first port of call. Make sure they’re updated to include any new risks and control measures that you need to put in place to make sure ongoing work is done safely in extreme weather.

If you’ve got people who need to drive in extreme weather, make sure you’ve got emergency supplies sorted in case their care breaks down or they get stuck somewhere.

  • Vehicle checks – have your drivers checked their vehicles before they set off on their journey? Are they in good enough shape to be driving during extreme weather?
  • First Aid kits – is there a full and in-date First Aid Kit in their vehicle?
  • Food and drink – are they driving with food and drink supplies that will cover them for any length of time?
  • Medicine – do they take regular medication, and do they have enough with them to cover them if they breakdown or become stranded?
  • Communication – have they got a phone? Is it charged? Can you make regular content with them?
  • Clothing – do they have warm clothes they can wear?

Need Some More Help?

Our Health & Safety team have put together a Toolbox Talk on managing extreme and adverse weather, covering what you need to keep in mind when working during bad weather, what you need to do as a manager and some useful questions you can ask your team to make sure everyone’s on the same page.

If you want to download your copy today, just click here to find out more.

And if you’ve got any questions about employee and workplace safety during periods of bad weather, or you could do with the support of our team of Health & Safety experts, just get in touch with us on 0114 244 4461 or drop us a line on our callback form.