Snow and ice - dispelling the myths

The recent freezing weather conditions have reignited the debate over whether you should clear snow and ice from your premises or not.
Health and safety and the fear of litigation are often cited as reasons not to do clear snow and ice from your premises and neighbouring properties.

The Legal Position

Under UK legislation there is potential for both criminal and civil liability in the event of an accident, injury or near miss caused as a result of the snow and ice on your premises. The extent of your duty and potential liabilities will vary depending upon the class of person on your premises (e.g. employees, pupils, visitors and in some instances even trespassers).

There is no law which should prevent you from clearing snow and ice from your premises or the surrounding area. In fact, you owe a general duty to take reasonable steps to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of anyone on your premises.

Both the government and the HSE advocate the approach that as long as you act carefully and use your common sense, you are unlikely to be sued or held legally responsible for any injuries or damage caused. It is an urban myth that you are more likely to face liability if you clear ice and snow, than if you don't.

Potentially there is a greater risk of liability if you do nothing and allow icy and snowy conditions to remain, than if you take reasonable action to clear the snow.

Criminal Law

Under health and safety law you are obliged to conduct your business in such a way as to ensure, in so far as is reasonably practicable, that anyone who may be on your premises is not exposed to risks to health and safety, this would include those risks presented by adverse weather conditions on your property.

You are also under a duty to assess the risks to the health and safety of persons in connection with the conduct of your business.
If you do not comply with these duties, and as a result, there is an accident on your premises resulting from snowy and icy conditions, there is a risk that you could face a regulatory action in the event that this is considered to be a serious failing on your part to comply with health and safety legislation.

That said, the Government and HSE is keen to stress that health and safety fears should not prevent anyone from taking a common sense approach to snow clearing.

Civil law

In civil law you owe the duties to take such care as in all the circumstances is reasonable to ensure that a visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he or she is invited or permitted to be there.

You also have a general duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury to anyone who might forseeably suffer injury or damage as a result of your actions.

Legislation goes further to protect your employee, you should, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route is kept free from obstructions and from any article or substance which may cause a person slip, trip or fall. This has been interpreted to include ice and snow.

The Courts have interpreted the meaning of a "workplace" widely to include car parks and any means of access and egress to a place of work, and there have been a number of cases concerning falls in icy or snowy conditions.

Practical Advice

In order to reduce the risk of accidents and mitigate the risks of litigation you should ensure that you assess the risks posed by freezing weather conditions and snow and ice (as well as other inclement weather conditions) and take sensible measures to tackle them where appropriate. This could include clearing, gritting, or even closing some routes.

You should follow the practical steps in the 'Snow Code' which can be found at Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway. 
Other useful guidance can be found on the HSE's website at Slips and trips - Icy conditions and winter weather.

Most of all you should use your common sense. You should risk assess the hazards presented by snowy and icy conditions and balance them against the time, trouble and/or costs of taking the necessary precautions to obviate those risks.

Each case will turn on its own facts, but it is worth noting that the Courts have generally considered that precautions should be taken unless the cost, in terms of time, effort and expense, is grossly disproportionate to the risk presented by the weather conditions.

For more information or advice, please contact Natalie Wargent in our Regulatory Compliance team on 0117 314 5433, or complete the form below.