Working In Hot Weather

We Brits are infamous for our propensity to engage in small-talk, and our favourite topic, our go-to banter, is the weather. We are also guilty of complaining about it - too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy. It's a national preoccupation.

However, there are very real and practical implications for workers when the mercury rises above the level to which we are accustomed. Unsurprisingly, there is no set maximum temperature for UK workplaces and the advice from the good people at the Health & Safety Executive is predictably woolly:

"During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable"

It goes without saying that 'reasonable' is open to interpretation. Clearly, the needs of those engaged in physically demanding roles differ greatly from those of us who put in our 9 to 5 within comfortable, airconditioned offices. Common-sense is the order of the day.

Happily, Acas have produced some straightforward, jargon-free guidance on working in hot weather, along with some handy tips, which you can read here.