How to be Cool, When it's Hot Hot Hot!
Posted on 23rd July 2021 at 17:47
From Our What'sUp? Workshop 21 July 2021
There are no statutory health and safety regulations that state a minimum or maximum temperature in the workplace, but the guidance suggests that 13°C for physical work and 16°C for office work should be appropriate. But nothing for maximum temperature?
Why?
Well Health and Safety legislation places the onus on the employer to make sure it is “reasonable” because they’re the ones in the know for the particular circumstances. We can’t always control our environment (and should we? – but there’s another topic for another day!), but it’s generally easier to warm a body up.
Which doesn’t help, given the high temperatures that the UK sustained during July 2021. The mercury was rising, the barometer rising and what could employers actually do to keep tempers from doing the same?
We put this to the WhatsUp Workshop panel to see what actions could be achieved sensibly, without having to close the business down during a heatwave.