The temperature’s rising and it’s a challenge for employers 

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.

For 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.

Said Miss Amy Cusworth, employment expert with Rotherham solicitors Oxley & Coward Solicitors LLP : “The real challenge is that there is no universal standard that sets out how hot is too hot.

“Factors such as the nature of the work, the physical demands of the job, and the individual characteristics of employees are all part of the mix.  Clearly a working environment involving heat generation, such as a bakery or a furnace will inevitably involve higher temperatures and those may be reasonable in that environment, when combined with the right level of worker protection, where it would be unacceptable in an office or retail shop.”

She added:  “The important thing is to identify the risks and tackle them when the weather is cool, and with a long-term strategy.  The mercury is rising year on year, and we have to face up to it.  Employers need to listen to employees and work to develop a safe and healthy working environment for the future.  Keeping policies up to date and making sure everyone understands their rights when the temperature does rise is an essential 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.]