Sounds expensive - what is it you do that's important enough to go to those lengths?
I can't really go into the details of my work - but a) we can afford it b) it works out cheaper than missing even 20% of our SLAs in a day alone c) we put up some managers in hotels close to work as they live in dodgy snow areas. The area of work itself in town is fine since London isn't affected, it's just making sure we have the resources. Especially at this time of the year, and after Christmas it's a busy time.
Nice to see you are a good employer and laying on 4x4 with drivers is a good idea. However, I feel it harsh that you make the general assumption that everybody who didn't go into work yesterday are just lazy.
The snow yesterday in our village was a foot deep and the A66 main road was closed. My laguna was like a snow plough with the front spoiler digging up snow. I spent an hour and ten minutes to get 20 yards and back before going back into the house and working from home via VPN all day. I was still 100 yards short of the next minor road and I had taken a walk up to it and it was no better than the road I love on. Unless I was prepared to keep digging my car forward for 7 miles to the main road, I really didn't see the point of it.
I still got the grief from my boss that "this happens every year and that if he tried to drive to my house now he bet that he could get there". Of course he could, he has a Range Rover. I bet he wouldn't make it in his Lambourghini Mercialago though!
Last night I spent 2 hours using a combination of digging and driving slowly getting my car to the next minor road which had at least had a snow plough down at some point yesterday afternoon and we fortunately hadn't had any more snow since lunchtime.
I have made it into work today although very hard going as the A66 is still shut.
So please don't make out that everybody who doesn't make it to work is lazy.
I was talking about people in the company I work for (so a few 1000 people) I should have made it clearer, apols for that.
I agree that in some rural areas, where public transport is cut off, and there is absolutely no way of coming in it's just impossible. I, myself, last year in Feb wasn't able to get into work at all. Neither was 60% of the work force. It's just one of those things. I took it us unpaid holiday and had a fantastic day out in the snow, guilt free!
What I was trying to allude to was that a lot of people honestly don't try and use the snow as an excuse - of course you cna't generalise, but hey, we all do it!
What I think is daft is how everything closes for a bit of snow when it's not necessary. What annoys me more is the lack of preparation when they knew for weeks we'd have snow. :/ I thought the British were all about a "can do" attitude, and stiff upper lip and all that
Playing devil's advocate on my own arguement, I'd say that most industries can afford a day or two of lack of work. However, I still find it hard to feel that snow is a carte blanche for no work.
) and the rest of the journey is along main roads which hopefully aren't icy !