Do you have to go to school or be on time to work when it snows? I know many asked this question when it snowed and NRW had over 400km of traffic jams.
Well according to the law, employees should make sure they make it to work on time even if it means leaving the house 3-5hrs earlier to make this happen; failure to which the employer is allowed by law to subtract this from your pay and/or issue a warning.
The employee should make sure they call in early to inform the employer they are on their way and that they would be willing to stay longer at work to recover the hours spent in traffic during working hours.
For school going children, the issue is a little easier. In NRW the ministry has it stated on their website that it’s upto the parents’ disgression to decide whether it is safe for the child to go to school or not. The parent has to call the school and inform the school in case they decide the child should stay home.