to think there needs to be a maximum working temperature.

[HelenaDove]

Ive been shocked to read on here and see and feel in RL how hot some workplaces are getting (namely some of the shops ive been in) some of the posts ive seen on here are really worrying. IMO there needs to be a maximum working temperature . This hot hot weather has gone on MUCH longer than the Beast from the East snow did. Why on earth does there have to be a death in this so called first world country before anything changes........i actually think thats what its probably going to take before anything MIGHT be done .

amp.theguardian.com/careers/2017/jun/21/working-in-a-heatwave-your-legal-rights?__twitter_impression=true

Seconded.

YANBU. I remember horrible summers working in a pizza shop next to the oven with no air con cos the boss was too tight to allow us the passcode for it. Should be as illegal as too cold but lots of people don’t realise one is legal.

How do you suppose it would work for places like kitchens, foundries, laundries and lots of other places? Like any work place the employer will do risk assessments to mitigate risk

Forklift my DB is a senior caster so he works in the heat. They work in short bursts at the moment because his employer has increased the amount of breaks.

If schools weren't on holiday would you be OK with them closing and sending pupils home?

Ha. Hahaha. I’m a student midwife and our duty room was 38 Celsius. The bays themselves were 28-30. Thankfully they saw the light and allowed us to wear scrubs rather than our NHS uniforms when the heat is at its worst, but we’re never going to have air con installed.

I agree, I think if there was a maximum working temperature then more places would have to install air conditioning which would make their staff more comfortable.

It might force employers to invest in air conditioning though.

No shop or office will ever be as hot as the kitchens I worked in as a student, next to a flame pit we used to cook over in full chef whites, hat and steel toe cap shoes. You need to take perspective, if there was an upper limit an office or shop wouldn't reach out in a million years

im childfree by choice but schools could

a. relax the uniform rules so the pupils dont get so hot

b. spend some of the money that they get from the pricey uniform that can only be bought from their exclusive shops on getting air con installed.

You cant expect children to concentrate on their work properly in this heat.

I agree it's bloody hot and difficult to work in this extreme weather, but is it really necessary to start implementing new laws and equipment to accommodate something that is likely only to happen once in a blue moon?

If it becomes the norm over the next few years then yes I agree measures should be put in place

One of the shops i went into was like a greenhouse and they sell food amongst other things.

I agree. It's crazy that there is no Health and Safety legislation about maximum temperatures at work, only minimums.

My kitchen is currently 36-42 degrees. Its getting unbearable but we aren't allowed to stop working.
Can you imagine the uproar if I closed my pub kitchen? Customers would never come back!
IME, office workers in general have no concept of what is actually a hot working environment. The ones who set our levels and refuse us a maximum while sitting on their butts in air-conditioned health and safety offices are the most deluded of all.

I agree OP. There should be a maximum, and protection for those of us who have to stop work because of the heat.

If schools weren't on holiday would you be OK with them closing and sending pupils home?

If the temperature was such that it was necessary then sure. I don’t expect teacher and pupils are exempt from feeling hot.

DD’s school moved some lessons outside under the shade and utilised the coolest rooms in the school more.

I agree. The first year I moved to London, in a shorter and not as hot spell than this, they recorded the temperature on the tube lines as being 38degrees.Its illegal to transport cattle over 28degrees! People were dropping like flies even in the mornings when it hadn't reached peak heat. And the amount of times I saw (& still see) mothers on tube wearing nice cool tshirt/shorts while their puce, miserable & overheated under two's wear 2-3 layers plus a blanket!! I've had to say something. I'm also still seeing people walking miserable looking dogs mid pm when it's unbearable for me, even in shorts/t shirt.

Skarossink I used to be a secondary school teacher in a 3rd floor classroom with windows that didn't open (for "safety" reasons). The summer I was 7 months pregnant my head of department refused to sign off for fans for the rooms even after a perfectly healthy, slim teenaged girl collapsed from the heat in my class room and was taken to hospital in an ambulance, and the same thing happened with a different girl in a colleague's room. The rooms absolutely stank too, with 30 sweating teens in close proximity. Finally a no nonsense long serving colleague bought them herself, had her year 10s carry them up the stairs and insisted he process her expense claim. Head of department also objected to me sitting down as "teaching by walking around" was the fashion at the time.

Schools should indeed have provision for alternative arrangements when classrooms are over 30 degrees.

Summer 2015 early July My neighbours pet snake decided to explore the outdoors so it was obvs hot enough for it to feel that way.

August 2016 I was asked to go on a long drive to Luton in a non air condttioned car during that heatwave I refused.

September 2016 another heatwave ...............my elderly cat hated it and actually accepted DH putting cold water on the back of her neck.

June 2017 ..............see above article in my link.

June 2003 i was working in a tv shop it was hell.

2013 was another hot one

September 2006

It is no longer a rare occurance This one has been seven weeks long.

A few years ago when we had a run of hot weather at the beginning of July, we had 3 days where the school I taught at was closed for the afternoons. The shape/design of the building was terrible for trapping heat and not allowing it to escape - entire walls of windows, directly facing the sun from just before lunchtime - and no shaded areas outside to use.

I think there should be a maximum temperature - for everyone - and contingencies in place for environments that are always going to be hotter by their definition (like kitchens, foundries etc.).

It's not a rare event any more. It will become more common year by year.

Part of my job involves a whole day in a car park with no shade.
We wear thick cotton trousers and shirts and steel caps boots. It's awful

But my employer gives us one hour on and one hour off breaks. Ice cubes and water Parasols Sometimes even ice lollies. I'm thank ful we are cared for so well

My classroom was 30 degrees today - with me doing everything I could to keep it cool (my school has a summer uniform which is cooler for the kids). I have a fan from home which helps, otherwise it would be worse.
The poor buggers in the kitchen had to put up with temperatures around 37 degrees.
The first thing I did when I got home was strip off.
Naturally all of the offices have air conditioning....

There needs to be a huge rethink around building design to get maximum airflow.
I work in a school, where the hall has glass on 2 sides, but only a couple of high up, teeny windows, on one side only. I think the architect should be shot. Why would you not have opening windows, giving the possibility of a through draught, when the walls are actually panels of glass? Why have glass roofs that can't open, with no blinds? I could go on..
This type of issue would be quite simple to address, but as it involves spending money ( not a lot, but some) these simple adaptations will not take place unless there is legal compulsion.
Given the increasing frequency of boiling hot summers, yes I do think there should be legislation about maximum temperatures for working in.

I agree with you 100%. Other countries have a maximum working temperature, why not us?

Some firms already have it but it's not enshrined in law at the moment.