Too Hot To Work? Maximum Temperature For Working
Too hot to work? Who can’t help but love the British people? We spend 11.5 months complaining about the rain, 10 of those complaining it is too cold…the sun comes out and we can’t cope with that either!
The law in England and Wales doesn’t actually set a ‘maximum’ temperature for working (which when you think about the fact that our average temperature hovers around a damp 6-15 Centigrade it would make sense that law makers never got round to it.
We do however have a minimum working temperature, 16 Centigrade for a normal workplace and 13 Centigrade if the work involves rigorous physical effort.
What should employers do when employees complain that it is too hot to work? A business in Swansea even made the difficult decision to close due to soaring temperatures!
So other than opening the windows and passing round the fans, what else can be done?
Consider relaxing the dress code slightly, stocking the freezer with ice lollies, or if your business needs permit consider whether working earlier in the morning and finishing before the real heat of the afternoon could work for your business.
Thankfully, it is the UK, we know its only likely to last a few days, at most a couple of weeks and then we can all get back to complaining about the rain again. Pass the sun cream.
