Summer 2024 may have been a mixed bag in terms of weather, but it has been a bag of extremes, with cycles of torrential rain followed by heatwaves. And as the UK experiences increasingly hotter summers, the issue of high temperatures in the workplace is becoming a significant concern for employers.
While short-term measures may mitigate the immediate risks of a heatwave, businesses need to consider the broader context of climate change and its impact on the working environment to develop a long-term approach.
While there is no specific maximum working temperature law in the UK, employers have a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy working environment under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This includes taking steps to protect employees from excessive heat, whether they come into work or are working from home.
The law requires employers to assess risks to employee health and safety, which includes those arising from heat stress, and there is a specific requirement to consider how it impacts women of child-bearing age, including anyone who’s pregnant, breastfeeding or just had a baby, or anyone with health conditions or disabilities that can be affected by extreme temperatures.
And if a risk cannot be avoided or removed, the employer must allow the person to leave the workplace, with full pay, until the risk is over.
Factors such as the nature of the work, the physical demands of the job, and the individual characteristics of employees may all be relevant to determining employee health and safety.
Employers should identify the risks and tackle them when the weather is cool, and with a long-term strategy. Cooperation with employees, keeping policies up to date and making sure everyone understands their rights when the temperature does rise is an important part of this.
Some common control measures to address high temperatures in the workplace include:
- Adequate ventilation or air conditioning
- Access to cool drinking water
- More frequent breaks
- Cooler rest areas
- Adapting work patterns or tasks to reduce heat exposure
- Personal protective equipment, such as fans or cooling vests
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
