Q&A: An employee refused to come into work due to icy roads. Can we require him/her to work from home instead of taking leave?
Published on: 04/03/2026
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Madison Bowyer Associate in the Employment Law Group of Arthur Cox NI

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This month's question:

An employee refused to come into work due to icy roads. Can we require him/her to work from home instead of taking leave?

Under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, employers have a duty of care for the health and safety of all employees. This means an employer should not encourage or require an employee to travel where icy road conditions make it unsafe to do so. 

Nevertheless,

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 04/03/2026