What UK law says about working in extreme heat

As temperatures continue to rise at the end of the working week, many workers are asking what legal protections they have in extreme heat.

 

Dr Alex Patrick, lecturer in law at the University of Reading, sets out what employers must do and where the law falls short.

 

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Dr Patrick said: “There is no legal maximum workplace temperature in the UK. Employers must ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, including a reasonable working temperature, but the law does not define what that means in practice.

 

“Employers must assess risks and put suitable controls in place, such as fans, ventilation, relaxed dress codes, rest breaks, cold water and adjusted hours for outdoor workers to avoid the hottest part of the day. Extra protections apply to vulnerable workers: employers must assess risks for employees who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have recently given birth, and must suspend them on full pay if those risks cannot be removed. There is also a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers.

 

“Employees have no automatic right to refuse to work in the heat and no automatic right to flexible arrangements such as working from home or adjusted hours, though they do have the right to request flexible working. Given the vagueness around what counts as a reasonable temperature, the law is difficult to enforce. Workers should raise concerns with colleagues, safety representatives and management.

 

“The Trades Union Congress has been calling for a legal maximum of 30 degrees Celsius, or 27 degrees for strenuous work, but there are currently no plans to change the law.”