Feeling the heat
Although the UK has apparently just experienced the hottest day of the year, spare a thought for workers in the civil service in Gabon, where daily temperatures are currently about 28 degrees, the minimum night temperature around 24 degrees, and humidity at 80%, who have been ordered to smarten themselves up. According to Reuters: “A new dress code will require female civil servants to don either a full-length dress, a traditional African robe, trouser suit or ‘a plain skirt, high-necked blouse and shoes for town’”. Whilst men must wear “either a suit, jacket or smart traditional African attire”, a tie will, at least, remain optional.
In the UK, meanwhile, workplaces that were thrown into disarray by the snow at the start of the year may find themselves battling with very different kinds of weather-related problems as the summer kicks in.
Whenever the temperatures rise dramatically, employment lawyers expect to be asked what the maximum temperature is, beyond which employees do not have to attend work. The frequently surprising answer is that, at present, there is no set maximum temperature for the workplace. Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 does address the issue of temperature in indoor workplaces, but it merely states that “During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.”
Unfortunately, however, there is no specific definition of what a “reasonable” temperature is, and it will depend on the type of work being carried out and the nature of the premises. The same degree of ambiguity does not apply to minimum temperatures, however, and the Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) states that, “The temperature in workrooms should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius.”
The issue of workplace temperature may appear to be something of a joke and, in fairness, high temperatures are usually rare over the course of a year. There is a serious point to this issue, however, as employers who fail to keep workplaces cool, may find themselves liable if a member of staff has an accident at work or falls ill because of the heat.
In previous years, the TUC has called for a statutory maximum working temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, or 27 degrees Celsius for those carrying out strenuous work. This is a proposal that the HSE has looked into in the past, although it concluded, in a Health and Safety Commission Paper from 2003, that “setting a maximum working temperature is inappropriate and would be difficult to enforce. There are almost 4 million workplaces and one solution will not fit all.”
Whilst it is unlikely that a statutory maximum temperature for workplaces will be introduced in the near future, that does not mean that employers should not consider ways of reducing, or at least of accommodating, heat in the workplace, if only to ensure that their staff are comfortable, and capable of giving of their best. Suggestions that may help with hotter weather range from introducing air conditioning and distributing employees with fans, to providing cold drinking water, or allowing staff to dress down. As with many other adjustments in the workplace, employers may find that short-term expenditure or upheaval to be worthwhile in return for happier, more productive staff.
On the subject of uncomfortable workplaces, few can have been in quite the same league, recently, as that of Wimbledon umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who had to oversee the Longest Tennis Match in the World, Ever; the eleven hour and five minute slog between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Mr Lahyani, who spent the match perched on what, for want of a better word, is a grown-up’s highchair, confided to Reuters that he was able to deal with sitting still in a cramped chair for hours on end, because he tended to travel economy class. Mind you, if, after an eleven hour flight, I found that I was still only in SW19, I think I would ask for my money back.
Author: Neil Emery
Published: 28 June 2010