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The Houses of Parliament in central London - Source: Reuters -
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A heavy snow storm that brought havoc to the UK will cost the country's already recession-hit economy up to 3.5 billion pounds ($5 billion) according to Britain's Federation of Small Businesses.
The FSB, which has more than 215,000 members, estimated that more than 6 million people were off work on Monday, one-fifth of the UK workforce, as transport networks ground to a near-halt after the heaviest snowfalls in Britain for 18 years.
The extreme weather conditions could not have come at a worse time for "UK PLC" with companies already struggling in the face of the most dire economic downturn seen in decades, but the federation feels this shouldn't have been the case.
"One of the world's biggest economies should not be grinding to a halt, even if it is only once every 10 years," said Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Businesses.
London's bus service was suspended, something that was not even experienced during the blitz in the World War Two, despite the weather being forecast days in advance.
The FSB forecasts that UK companies could lose up 1.2 billion pounds a day because of the disruption to trains, buses, underground trains and airports, and as roads remain gridlocked and many schools remain closed.
On Tuesday, Heathrow and Britain's other airports were open but airport operator BAA said many flights would be delayed or cancelled.
The Met Office issued an extreme weather warning to motorists to beware of icy roads and drifting or heavy snow and said there was a risk of snowfalls and severe weather affecting many parts of Scotland.
Keith Tilley, UK managing director of SunGard Availability Services, who gives advice on how businesses can avoid disruption told Reuters that planning in advance could have made all the difference to maintaining services and productivity.
"Every company should have a business continuity plan," he said, adding "communication is essential" to both staff and customers.
Tilley said businesses need to be honest about reasons for disruptions and that people are more sympathetic if you communicate to them in advance.
"Confidence is taking another knocking and businesses are already suffering bad enough, so you can do without losing the opportunity to make money," said Tilley.
UK company failures have risen by 30% in the last quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007, according to numbers from business advisory firm Deloitte.
There was a total of 3,025 companies in administrations during 2008, 20% more than in 2007.
Tilley said there was a danger some companies could be forced over the edge following the inclement start to the week.
"If it stops companies from being able to trade and to get cash in, which is the key to every business, then it's going to make things very difficult".
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