Whether you’re a property owner or facility manager, understanding your legal responsibilities when it comes to snow and ice removal is critical.
2024 saw the UK’s record for the most amount of insurance money claimed in response to winter damage, reaching £573 million in just the winter months. Of course, these insurance claims were all businesses claiming on their own insurance to cover damages.
While far from ideal, this is not the worst insurance claim that can occur.
You are responsible for maintaining good safety across your site as a property owner or facility manager. What happens on your site is your responsibility. The last thing you want is an accident because snow wasn’t cleared, ice wasn’t removed, or signage wasn’t put up.
You must be fully aware of all your responsibilities to prevent accidents and protect yourself from potential legal and financial repercussions.
This article will cover everything you need to know about your legal responsibilities, giving you the best practices for compliance and tips on protecting yourself and your customers.
Legal Obligations
In the UK and most developed countries, property owners and occupiers have a legal duty of care to ensure their premises remain safely accessible at all times.
This is established in UK common law and means that property owners must take reasonable steps to prevent accidents caused by snow and ice. These legal obligations are designed to be sensible and extend to all areas visitors are reasonably expected to go.
Reasonable areas typically include entrances, walkways, car parks, and emergency exits. You should always ensure these areas are safe and have clear signage warning visitors of potential hazards.
The critical legislation you need to consider is the 1957 Occupier’s Liability Act, which establishes that occupiers must take reasonable care to ensure the safety of lawful visitors. A later act in 1984 also states the same to a lesser extent for trespassers.
Alongside this legislation, you should also be aware of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which requires employers to ensure their employees remain healthy and safe in the workplace within reasonable means.
Potential Liabilities
Snow and ice, especially in large quantities, can form a severe hazard on any property, and failing to remove them properly can lead to worrying legal and financial consequences.
This occurs when a visitor slips and falls on icy or snowy surfaces. The visitors then seek compensation for their injuries, usually filing claims against you, the property owner or manager.
The first issue is cost – even if you don’t have to payout, the legal fees can be expensive, and of course payouts if you are found at fault won’t be cheap, either. The trouble doesn’t end there. Should you be found liable, these claims can massively increase your insurance rates.
In extreme negligence cases, you may even find it difficult to get insured at all.
All in all, keeping yourself protected and your property safe should be a top priority during the winter months.
Best Practices for Compliance
The first step in ensuring good compliance with your legal duties is to conduct regular monitoring of your property and emerging weather conditions.
This should include staying informed about weather forecasts, especially during the worst winter months, and conducting regular on-site inspections to check for potential winter hazards. Look out for every potential safety issue, including slippery surfaces, cracks in the road, icicles, and other dangerous objects that could fall during storms.
Alongside your monitoring, you should implement a clear and accessible system for all employees to enact rapid response once hazards are found, employing professional snow and ice removal services to solve the problem.
On the legal side, make sure to maintain meticulous records and documentation of all maintenance activities. Include in your documentation:
- Dates and times of inspections
- Weather conditions and potential hazards observed
- What actions were taken to mitigate the risks such as gritting ice or shoveling snow
- Any incidents or near-misses
Professional Snow and Ice Removal Services
If you do find any emerging winter hazards, you’ll want to ask fast to remove them before they cause an accident. While you can attempt this yourself, employing professionals to guarantee results is often advisable – especially for any site more extensive than a house.
Selecting the right provider can be the difference between insurance claims and a relaxed winter. AccuGrit understands this, so we focus on providing prompt, professional, and reliable snow and ice removal services.
AccuGrit uses only experienced and certified crews capable of tackling all winter conditions to ensure your property complies with all necessary legal requirements.
We also conduct our own comprehensive documentation and use advanced weather monitoring to reach sites before accidents occur.
Risk Management Strategies
Aside from employing top-quality winter service providers, there are also a couple of extra risk management strategies you can introduce to help reduce your liability risks.
The first step is to create a comprehensive snow and ice management plan, establishing pre-season preparation, assigning responsibilities, and developing procedures for consistent monitoring and maintenance over winter. This plan should also include regular safety audits.
To ensure everyone is on board, it’s important to train all your staff in emergency response protocols and good documentation procedures and ensure all relevant employees are trained to use snow and ice removal equipment.
Communication with Stakeholders
Whatever plans you draw up, keep everyone who needs to know in the loop. This means informing tenants and all employees and putting up clear, accessible information packages for visitors on what to do in the event of adverse winter weather.
You should also inform any other key stakeholders such as business investors or other owners of your snow and ice removal efforts and policies so that they are aware of any changes.
Conclusion
As the property owner, you are legally responsible for ensuring that all employees and visitors are protected from potential hazards, including ice and snow.
Luckily, with the right plan and careful approach, you can both keep your property safe and protect yourself from damaging insurance claims.
If you need compliant and effective winter maintenance solutions, look no further than AccuGrit. Contact us today to see how AccuGrit can help keep your property safe and clear of snow and ice this winter.
