If you’re at work today in the extreme heat – which could end up being the hottest UK day on record – then you should definitely know what your rights are with regards to working conditions.
Whilst it’s been much debated that the UK does not have a maximum temperature at which workers should be sent home, there are rules about workplaces that become ‘unsafe’, which could certainly happen at the sort of temperatures that could be reached today.
One thing to bear in mind if you believe your workplace to be unsafe, is that there is legislation for circumstances like this.
Namely, Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act (1996) which states that workers have the right to refuse to return to a workplace – and are free from detriment, for example dismissal, pay cut, or disciplinary action – if they leave on the grounds that they believe it to be ‘unsafe’.
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According to the website of the Trades Union Congress: “Workers are entitled to remain away from the workplace if – in their opinion – the prevailing circumstances represent a real risk of ‘serious and imminent danger’ which they could not be expected to avert.”
However, they also point out that you should contact your union before exercising rights under Section 44.
If you’re wondering exactly what your rights are, you could do worse than to check out what the TUC have to say about it, as they have loads of information online that could reassure or assist workers enduring conditions that are unfit for work.
For example, they argue that sunscreen should be considered protective equipment for all those who have to work outside.
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The TUC argue that employers should provide sunscreen with an SPF factor of at least 30 to all workers at no charge.
Personal Protective Equipment is defined as ‘all equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects [them] against one or more risks to [their] health or safety, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective.’
Given how dangerous the sun can be, that sounds like sunscreen fits the bill, right?
On the subject of maximum temperatures, whilst there is no current maximum temperature after which it becomes illegal to make people work, employers must ensure that there is a ‘reasonable’ working temperature.
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The TUC suggests that 24C should be the indoor temperature at which employers must act, with 30C an absolute maximum.
In other countries, there are already rules on this.
In the US, working temperatures shouldn’t pass 24C, with Spain set at 27C for indoors and 25C for physical work.
Germany has the cap at 26C for indoor work, and the UAE has banned outdoor work between 12:30pm and 3:00pm at the hottest times.
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Whilst the UK doesn’t experience temperatures like this that often – and indeed to this extreme ever before, potentially – we are likely to see them more frequently, and more legislation will be necessary to protect workers.
Tom Wood