Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to protect the safety of workers during extreme weather events.

There is already a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 which requires all employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees; and take action where necessary to minimise those risks as far as reasonably practicable. This would include the risks from extreme weather events such as heatwaves.

In addition, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 place a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in indoor workplaces. Employers should consult with employees or their representatives to establish sensible means to cope with high temperatures.

During the heatwave, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a proactive press release highlighting these duties and the detailed guidance available on the HSE website to manage workplace temperature and thermal comfort. This guidance includes information on how to undertake an assessment and specific measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort.

There is no maximum temperature because workplaces with hot processes such as bakeries or foundries would not be able to comply with such a regulation. They use other measures to control the effects of temperature.

In the first instance, employees should use the procedures put in place by their employers to raise any issues. If they remain unresolved then employees can raise them with the appropriate enforcing authority – either HSE or the Local Authority depending on the type of workplace.