The cost of lost working hours due to snowstorms across the UK should not be paid by employees, unions have warned.

The Trades Union Congress has issued advice about when it is reasonable to stay at home and how employers should treat lost time to bad weather.

It advises to only attempt to travel to work if it is safe to do so and it is the employers duty to contact staff about how they might get to work. The TUC also states firms should care that employees do not get trapped at work or put at risk if the weather gets worse. Workers should also let their employers know if they are not able to make it in that day.

Working from home should be used as an alternative wherever possible, added the TUC.

While there is no general legal right to be paid if you do not come into work, many companies have 'bad weather' policies so that employees who are kept away from work are still paid. For those employers who don't have 'bad weather' policies, the TUC claims it would be bad practise not to pay staff or force them to take holiday or fear resentment among those have been kept away from work through no fault of their own.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Scrooge bosses that dock pay and take away holiday will add to their business woes by creating resentment among staff. Workers who have been prevented from working through no fault of their own should not have to foot the bill for the bad weather conditions.

"Instead we urge all employers to look after their staff during these adverse weather conditions."