After our five days of summer last week, you might be thinking the same question. There is a common theory amongst employees that they have the legal right to leave work if the workplace reaches a certain temperature, however, this is not the case.
Croner Taxwise, our HR experts, recently made a blog post about this. So using their expertise, we have put together our own blog post about how to help staff when the weather conditions increase.
The Health and Safety Regulations state that workplace temperatures must remain ‘reasonable’.
How do you keep temperatures reasonable in the summer?
- Cooling (making use of fans, opening windows etc)
- Sufficient space in workrooms
- Shading employees from direct sunlight (using blinds or by using reflective film on windows to reduce the heating effects of the sun)
- Siting workstations away from direct sunlight or objects that that radiate heat (e.g. plant or machinery)
- Allowing sufficient breaks to enable employees to get cold drinks
- Formal dress code, however, ensure employee’s attire remains appropriate for the working environment
A popular idea is to treat staff to ice lollies, a small and affordable way to show appreciation for their employee’s efforts under these difficult conditions. Always goes down a treat!
Overall it is important that staff stay ‘cool’ as temperatures heat up and taking a positive approach to accommodate staff will help maintain usual service levels and guard against unrest and absenteeism.
