How hot does it have to be to legally leave work?
THE UK is basking in warm weather and if you don't have air con in your office you could be left sweltering.
Temperatures already reached 30°C over the weekend and are set to remain in the high 20s this week.
If you do have to head to work when you'd rather be enjoying the sun, we explain what rights you have when it's too hot in the office.
What rights do I have if it's too hot in the office?
There's no minimum or maximum temperature for offices or other places of work enshrined in law at it stands.
What employers do have to do is make sure conditions are "reasonable", which is obviously very vague.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a government agency responsible for the "encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare".
It suggests places of work should have a minimum temperature of 16°C.
In cases where the job requires you carrying out ";rigorous physical effort", this figure drops to 13°C.
This is because you are more likely to build up body heat in an environment where you are exerting yourself physically.
Unfortunately, the HSE has said it can't give a meaningful maximum temperature.
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This is because some kinds of businesses will be hot simply because of the type of work carried out there - such as glassworks or bakeries.
The say employers should make sure their workers have access to water and monitor their wellbeing in hot weather.
However, the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers recommends the following temperatures for different working areas:
- Heavy work in factories: 13°C
- Light work in factories: 16°C
- Hospital wards and shops: 18°C
- Offices and dining rooms: 20°C
The HSE says: “If a significant number of employees are complaining about thermal discomfort, your employer should carry out a risk assessment, and act on the results of that assessment.”
That means if you're uncomfortable, you should tell your boss or HR and if enough people complain the business needs to investigate.
If you're vulnerable, such as menopausal or pregnant, you should mention this as well.
You may not get to work from home though, instead the business might provide fans, relax dress codes, turn up air con, or look at other measures to make things more comfortable.
People working from home may also be struggling. Here's our top tips for beating the heat.
It's also worth bearing in mind what the symptoms of heat stress are:
- an inability to concentrate
- muscle cramps
- heat rash
- severe thirst - a late symptom of heat stress
- fainting
- heat exhaustion - fatigue, giddiness, nausea, headache, moist skin
- heat stroke - hot dry skin, confusion, convulsions and eventual loss of consciousness. This is the most severe disorder and can result in death if not detected at an early stage
What are my rights if I need to take public transport?
Each transport company sets its own policies - and there's no law about temperatures during a heatwave.
This can mean that travellers face extremely high temperatures.
For example, in 2018, Londoners complained of 42C temperatures on the Tube - higher than the legal limit for transporting cattle.
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Transport for London has said that all Tubes will be air-conditioned by 2030.
In any case, you;'ll want to make sure you take a bottle of water with you on any journeys and wear cool, loose clothing.
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