Business groups have urged head teachers to keep school closures to a minimum as companies struggle to cope with the disruption caused by the cold weather.

With thousands of schools closed across the UK, the Federation of Small Business (FSB) has called on the government to work out a code for school closures.

Stephen Alambritis, chief spokesman for the FSB, said he was concerned that head teachers may be closing schools unnecessarily. "There is concern that the vast majority of absences from work are simply because parents have to stay at home to look after the children," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We appreciate that, but we do have a worry that head teachers and the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Association of Directors of Children's Services haven't really sat down and thought through a code of practice to make sure wherever possible that it's only in exceptional circumstances that the school is closed,” he said.

With Arctic conditions expected to last for as long as a week, business groups have warned that the cost of absenteeism to the economy could reach £2bn as a result of travel disruption and office and school closures.

The FSB said that approximately 10% of the UK’s 30-million strong workforce was unable to get in yesterday, costing the economy an estimated £600m.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reported that despite three-quarters of businesses reporting that operations were being disrupted, there were relatively few absences and many staff worked from home.

According to a poll of 200 businesses conducted by the BCC and Sky News, 61% of firms said fewer than 10% of employees were absent, and two-thirds said staff were able to work from home.

While some large companies have refused to rule out penalising staff who don’t make it in, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber urged employers to take a sympathetic approach towards staff unable to get into work.

“Scrooge bosses who dock pay and take away holiday are needlessly adding to their business woes by creating resentment among staff,” he said.