Cold weather advice

In winter, snow and ice can cause additional slip hazards. You may have specific legal duties to guard against these, particularly if you're an employer.

Precautions may involve gritting, snow clearance and closure of some access routes – especially if these are on outside stairs, ladders or walkways on roofs.

Tips to help protect staff, volunteers and the public when the weather gets cold.

• Treat paths and walkways with salt or grit before nightfall or early morning before staff, volunteers and visitors arrive.
• Monitor the condition of the paths regularly, it’s easier to move snow when it’s fresh and loose.
• Never use water to melt ice and snow as it may refreeze and turn to black ice. Black ice increases the risk of injuries as it's invisible and very slippery.
• When you’re shovelling snow, take care not to block drains.

Employers can find specific information about slips, trips and keeping pathways clear on the HSE website and gov.uk.

Water leaks and burst pipes can be extremely destructive, especially if they go unnoticed for long periods of time. We have further advice on how to detect water leaks, handle a burst pipe or prevent frozen pipes.

• Water leak detection
• How to prevent burst pipes

Use of portable heaters should be restricted as much as possible. Where necessary, we recommend electric convector or fan-assisted heaters, with thermostatic cut-outs, which turn off in the event of over-heating.

Electric radiant heaters and paraffin/oil fired heaters should never be used, even as a temporary measure. They work by emitting heat from an element or flame and pose a significant fire risk.

Temporary heater safety tips:

• Do not leave temporary heaters unattended for long periods
• Turn off any temporary heaters when the building is unoccupied
• Always place heaters clear of any combustible items
• Take measures to prevent the heater being knocked over
• Temporary heaters should never be moved when switched on.

Vacant properties are more exposed to risk whether they are empty for a long time, or just over the holidays. When there is no one to keep an eye on buildings, the risk of theft and vandalism can increase. Equally, if a pipe does burst it may go unnoticed for a longer period of time and therefore cause more damage.

To alleviate risk, we provide detailed advice on vacant property security and protection which helps identify some of the biggest risks to vacant properties.

Using vacant property services can help also help you to minimise these risks. VPS provide risk management and security solutions on vacant property and construction sites, as well as ongoing occupied property maintenance including glazing, locks and doors. Ecclesiastical customers receive a beneficial rate with VPS as part of our Preferred Suppliers scheme.