A maximum indoor temperature working law giving people a day off if workplace temperatures surpass 30C should be mandated by government, a new report recommends.
The report by the Fabian Society thinktank highlights inequalities in who bears the brunt of the impacts of climate breakdown and puts responsibility on bosses and landlords to stop people from overheating.
An increasing number of people are dying from excessive heat in the UK. More than 4,500 people died in England in 2022 due to high temperatures, which was the largest figure on record. Between 1988 and 2022, almost 52,000 deaths associated with the hottest days were recorded in England, with a third of them occurring since 2016, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. During the same 35-year period analysed, more than 2,000 people died in Wales due to the warm temperatures.
For future reference, this comes under “Duty of care” in UK law. I’ve found raising “Duty of care concerns”, in a written form (e.g. WhatsApp), remarkably effective. It basically takes away any wiggle room they have, if it escalates.
For me, it is often related to driving. The client wanted me to cram too many long days and long drives together. It would apply to any safety situation however.