Trade unions, safety campaigners and employment rights advocates are calling for change, arguing that workers need stronger legal protection against the dangers of excessive heat at work. Thompsons Solicitors supports the Trades Union Congress (TUC) campaign for a legal maximum workplace temperature to help ensure workers can carry out their jobs safely.

The Risks of Working in Hot Weather

Hot weather can pose significant health and safety risks in the workplace, particularly for people working outdoors or in physically demanding roles. Construction workers, warehouse staff, transport workers, manufacturing employees and agricultural workers are among those most likely to be affected by rising temperatures.

Working in excessive heat can increase the risk of:

  • Heat exhaustion and dehydration
  • Fatigue and reduced concentration
  • Dizziness and heat-related illness
  • Workplace accidents and injuries
  • Long-term impacts on health and wellbeing

As climate change leads to more frequent and prolonged heatwaves, trade unions have warned that existing workplace protections are no longer sufficient to safeguard workers.

Why Campaigners Want a Legal Maximum Workplace Temperature

Current health and safety law requires employers to provide a reasonable workplace temperature and to protect employees from foreseeable risks. However, unlike many other workplace hazards, there is no legally defined maximum temperature at which work should stop or additional measures must be introduced.

The TUC's Too Hot to Work campaign is calling for clearer legal protections, including a maximum workplace temperature and stronger requirements for employers to assess and manage heat-related risks.

Campaigners argue that guidance alone is not enough and that workers should not have to rely on individual employers deciding what constitutes an unsafe temperature.

Thompsons Supports the TUC's Too Hot to Work Campaign

At Thompsons Solicitors, we regularly see the consequences of unsafe working conditions and understand the importance of strong workplace health and safety protections.

Daniel Poet, Partner at Thompsons Solicitors, said:

"As temperatures rise, so do the risks workers face on the job. Employers have a duty to keep staff safe, but clearer legal protections on maximum workplace temperatures are long overdue."

A legal maximum workplace temperature would help create consistent standards across industries, giving workers greater protection while providing employers with clearer guidance on their responsibilities.

Employers' Duty to Protect Workers During Hot Weather

Even without a legal maximum temperature, employers still have a duty to protect workers from heat-related risks.

This may include:

  • Carrying out heat risk assessments
  • Providing access to drinking water
  • Allowing additional rest breaks
  • Adjusting working hours where possible
  • Ensuring appropriate ventilation and cooling measures
  • Providing suitable personal protective equipment

Employers who fail to take reasonable steps to protect employees from heat-related hazards may be putting workers' health and safety at risk.

Workers Deserve Better Protection

No one should have to choose between earning a living and protecting their health. As temperatures continue to rise, workplace safety laws must keep pace with the realities facing workers across the UK.

Thompsons Solicitors stands alongside trade unions and workplace safety campaigners calling for stronger protections, including a legal maximum workplace temperature, to help ensure workers are safe at work during periods of extreme heat.

Support the Campaign

You can support the TUC's Too Hot to Work campaign by signing the petition and backing calls for stronger legal protection for workers exposed to excessive heat in the workplace.