Workplace temperature

We often get questions about workplace temperature and what to do when things aren't right. In this article we'll discuss these questions and more to help ensure you can work in comfort, no matter the weather.

There’s no legal maximum temperature set in law, but the guidance from the Workplace Regulations 1992 says that ‘during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable’. But what is reasonable?

The Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers recommends a good working temperature for an office is 20°C. And the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 say that employers should make suitable assessments of the risks to the health and safety of employees and take action where necessary or reasonably practicable.

When it comes to a minimum temperature, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) guidance suggests the workplace should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius.

Working in excessive heat is not only uncomfortable but can lead to an increase in accidents and injuries. If your workplace is too hot to work effectively, you could ask management to do the following:

• Provide fans or portable air conditioning units
• Make sure windows can be opened
• Shade employees from sunlight with blinds
• Move workstations away from direct sunlight or other objects that generate heat
• Relax the dress code
• Allow breaks so employees can get cold drinks
• Provide cold water dispensers
• Introduce temporary flexible working patterns, job rotation, workstation rotation etc
• If your management don’t listen or fail to take action, contact you local Accord officer for advice. You can also chat to us online or call and speak to our duty officer on 0118 934 1808.

The TUC are campaigning for a maximum working temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. We agree!

If your workplace is too cold to work effectively, you could ask management to do the following:

• Provide adequate workplace heating, such as portable heaters, to ensure work areas are warm enough when occupied
• Design processes that minimise exposure to cold areas and cold products
• Reduce draughts while keeping adequate ventilation
• Provide you with hot drinks to help keep you warm, and allow you breaks to get warm
• Relocate you to another suitable desk/area if there is a fault where you normally sit
• If the temperature can't be increased, consider closing the workplace - especially if the fault impacts all areas of your workplace
• Ensure you can keep warm with extra layers of clothing - that might mean relaxing any dress code that's usually in place
• If your management don’t listen or fail to take action, contact you local Accord officer for advice. You can also chat to us online or call and speak to our duty officer on 0118 934 1808.

If you’re struggling to get to work and you’re not sure what to do, take a look at your employer’s guidelines.

If you’ve done all you can to make it into work and talked to your line manager about your situation, then you should still be paid. Your employer can ask you to work some time back in exceptional circumstances where there’s an urgent business need.

If you follow the guidelines and think your manager is being unreasonable, please get in touch with your local Accord officer.

If your management don’t listen or fail to act, contact you local Accord officer for advice.

You can also chat to us online or call and speak to our duty officer on 0118 934 1808.

If you want to keep an eye on the temperature in your workplace, you can order one of our branded temperature gauge cards. Please send your request to: [email protected] - include your name and full workplace address.

There is further information and guidance available from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and some useful resources from the TUC:

• Acas’s guidance on extreme temperatures in the workplace
• Visit the Health & Safety Executive's page on workplace temperature
• Hot In Here video
• Cool It! guidebook
• TUC Education's Too Hot Too Cold microsite