Hannah Spencer's proposal for maximum workplace temperatures highlights an increasingly urgent issue for employers and policymakers alike. While legislation may help provide clarity in the future, businesses should not wait for a maximum legal limit before acting to protect workers, according to Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy and public affairs at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.
Health risks of extreme heat at work
Extreme temperatures can have a serious impact on worker health and safety as they can impair concentration and increase fatigue, both of which raise the likelihood of accidents. The law already requires employers to provide a reasonable indoor workplace temperature. Bosses are also required to assess workplace risks and take reasonably practicable steps to protect people.
For hot weather, this can include amending work schedules, moving physically demanding tasks to cooler parts of the day, providing shaded rest areas and free access to drinking water, and relaxing dress codes where appropriate. Wilkinson stated: "The debate over a UK maximum workplace temperature is an important one. But workers need protection now, not after new legislation has worked its way through parliament."
Good employers act beyond compliance
Wilkinson emphasised that safeguarding staff during heatwaves is not simply about compliance; it is also about preventing harm and demonstrating a genuine commitment to a safe, healthy and productive workforce. She urged businesses to take proactive measures without waiting for a legal maximum temperature limit.
Overheated schools threaten children's learning
Christine Özden, global director of climate education at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, highlighted the crisis in UK schools during heatwaves. In a letter, she noted that wet paper towels and ice pops are inadequate responses to classrooms reaching over 40°C. She called for a systematic approach to building climate resilience in education.
Özden pointed to examples from India and Pakistan, where Cambridge researchers have studied how school buildings use natural vegetation to cool spaces and protect academic attainment. Since Covid, Cambridge OCR has been calling for a more resilient and flexible approach to assessment.
Climate resilience must be systematic
Climate action plans, required in schools by the Department for Education, are helpful, but the country needs a more systematic approach. School leaders and teachers require clear, practical and detailed guidance to take the best action against extreme weather. Özden stated: "If we invest in resilient education systems, we will not only help children recover from crisis but enable them to shape their own futures."
She warned that summer terms have many "milestone moments," and hotter summers threaten these critical moments in young people's lives. "We must adapt with safe climate resilient learning infrastructure. A generation's right to education is at stake," she added.
