HR Anchor Abersoch 10k 2023

The Proud Finishers

The Proud Finishers

HR Anchor sponsored the Abersoch 10K race, which took place on 3rd June this year. 2023 is the second time HR Anchor has been the headline sponsor for the run.  The event saw many participants from HR Anchor and sister company Gamlins Law, both based in Morfa Hall, Rhyl, including Megan Bell, Georgia Tew, Victoria Panagakis, Sion Jones and Miriam Rhodes-Leader. The weather was fantastic on the day but the course was gruelling, with a very hilly terrain and soft sand at the end that made it incredibly difficult for the runners.

Managing Director of HR Anchor and Gamlins Law, Ron Davison, comments “We were proud to be associated with an event that promotes health and fitness for both mind and body.” Speaking after the event, he said “We believe it’s important for our employees to have a healthy work-life balance, and participating in events like this helps us to support both their physical and mental well-being. It’s also a great way to bring the team together.”

The calm before the run

The calm before the run

The race saw 575 finishers, spectators lined the streets for the first kilometre, which really gave the runners a boost for the start of the race, later along the course, spectators were on hand with hosepipes offering a welcome cool down to the passing runners. All participants from HR Anchor and Gamlims Law showed incredible determination and endurance throughout the race, with Georgia and Megan completing their first-ever 10K and Victoria achieving a personal best time, managing to beat the clock at just under 1hr. The gruelling course which includes ‘Tocyn Brutal’, soft sand and hurdling over groyns to the finish line didn’t stop our tenacious team, as they kept pushing forward to reach the finish line. Overall, the Abersoch 10K race was a fantastic event that brought together the community and promoted health and well-being. Ron concluded “We had a great time and it’s always good to support events like this that have a positive impact on the community and our employees”.

Victoria Finishes

Victoria Finishes

Miriam Finishes

Miriam Finishes

Sion Finishes

Sion Finishes

Georgia Finishes

Georgia Finishes

Megan Finishes

Megan Finishes

 

It’s warming up again this week! What if you think you’re too hot to go to work?

What are the maximum temperatures for working in the UK?

 

Surprisingly enough, there isn’t a maximum temperature in the UK that people can be required to work in. We do have a minimum which is 16 degrees Celsius or 13 degrees if you’re doing physical or manual work.  But we don’t have a maximum!  Perhaps because our weather has been so terrible for so many years, it hasn’t been an issue.

What are the legal obligations of firms when it comes to hot weather?

 

Even without a maximum working temperature, that doesn’t get employers out of any obligations.  Employers have an obligation toward the health and safety of people who are working for them. So if it is so hot that you have

  • people passing out at their desks
  • have heatstroke
  • are significantly dehydrated,

then the employer has probably failed in their duty of care.  They should have been taking some steps to make sure that the workplace is more suitable.

 

The TUC suggested there should be a maximum temperature of 30 degrees. Should there be a maximum?

Other countries have maximum working temperatures. There’s no reason why parliament couldn’t legislate to bring that in.  The difficulty we have in this country is we’re not set up for hot weather. Our houses are very insulated. We’re very good at keeping the warmth in. We are not very good at keeping things cold.  Air conditioning is still a rarity.  If we had a maximum working temperature for workplaces, those workplaces that can afford air conditioning, such as more modern offices where you have all the mod cons and you can throw money at that sort of thing. They’re going to be able to operate.  The challenge is for the businesses that have a more restricted budget, they are probably going to find that they’d have to close. It’s how you level that playing field, whilst keeping employees safe as well.

 

Scenario – I’m working in a kitchen, washing pots. It’s really hot. I’m feeling pretty unwell.

What can I say? What can I require my employer to do to help me?

Hopefully, it should just be a very basic conversation with another person where you say “I’m really uncomfortable. Is there anything that we can do? Can we open a back door? Can we get a fan in here?”

Make sure that people have got lots of water or perhaps have is ice available. Those sorts of things. Cover the basics first.  Then consider, do we have to be working in this particular area of the building? Is there somewhere else that we could be working that’s cooler?  This scenario with pot washing would be very difficult, but this could help others.  You could look at relaxing the dress code, allowing ties to be removed or letting people wear more loose clothing they may feel more comfortable in.  It’s all about being creative about the options before we get to the stage of sending everybody home.

 

How do I ask my employer if I can come in wearing shorts and a T-shirt, without causing problems?

Ensure you are respectful about how you ask.  Don’t turn up in a Hawaiian shirt and a miniskirt.  Instead, say “It’s really warm in here, Can I wear something a bit looser? It’s going to really help”

If your employer says no, and it affects the health or wellbeing of someone at work, potentially that’s been a breach of the employee’s legal rights and they could take it further.