Working in heat!!

[becca1611]

So a friend works in a busy kitchen preparing nearly 500 home cooked lunches and has gone into work today to find a lock on the only window in the kitchen. Surely in this heat this is totally un acceptable. Yes there are extractor fans above ovens but they only take a bit of the added heat out from the hobs they don't circulate cool air around. Can't find any maximum working temp laws so what can be done?? Manager is avoiding them as she obviously knows they have done something stupid.

Unless they have fly screens in place, windows in food preparation areas must be kept closed.

Sorry yes should have stated they do have a fly screen across the window too! X

How is the manager 'avoiding them'? When they say to her, "it's a bit hot in here can we have the key to the window please?" what does she say? Does your friend know where the key is?

There isn't a maximum working temp

The maximum is "reasonable" and the minimum is 16c/13c

God our air con has broken at work and it must be almost 40 degrees. No windows. It's absolutely horrific. Customers are complaining and walking out in droves. I'm like at least you cAn bloody leave!

Management should do a risk assessment of the environment and put reasonable controls in place so that staff arent placed at risk. HSE is vague because they have to allow for the fact that in some work environments you cant help it being hot eg a kitchen.

They should ensure adequate ventilation. I hope the staff highlight individual health conditions they have that could increase risk to their health. Without that their management cant know and may nit take the matter seriously. I feel ill if the heat is excessive so I empathise with them!

Hot where I work too.... a metal/glass like structure. So basically, a greenhouse!

My staff on tills can't just walk to a cooler area either. We have to just get on with it I suppose

Ramadan fasting starts soon too, so some will be wilting more than others I think